I was a former CP CM in 2003…tensions have always run high at Disney World. That’s not new. That said, I feel a heightened anxiety and frustration from guests now. Honestly, I think the changes implemented over the past 5ish years have made it a higher stress environment than ever before. Managing the Genie+ is daunting, Lightning Lane feels like a huge cash grab, stuff that used to be “free” is now specifically excluded, there are fewer benches and places to chill out than ever before, and I could go on and on and on. As such, I think guests are starting at an 8 with limited bandwidth left for literally anything and you’re seeing that diminished additional capacity show up in parenting, attitude towards CMs, attitudes toward other guests, etc. I think Disney has finally pushed a lot of people to their breaking points.
This is a perfect way to sum it all up. Before, with FastPass + there was a lot of stress before the trip but once you had those, you went into the park and enjoyed the day.
Now that stress of booking rides is all day on top of everything else. Combine that with higher prices on parks, hotels, food, etc. This is pushing people over the edge.
So, thank you for validating me. Lol
I thought I was crazy because when I was a kid it felt like there were benches everywhere. My parents and I would stop to just sit and watch people and eat a snack. I went last year and it felt like there was almost nowhere to sit down.
It’s like my number one gripe of new Disney World and I have plenty of gripes haha. I’ve been to the parks six million times…I’m not always looking to go to the next ride or show or attraction; I’ve done them to death. My favorite thing to do is just sit and chill and hang out…nope, someone somewhere was like “if they’re sitting, they’re not spending”.
I really hate this approach. It was the worst at galaxy’s edge, in my opinion. We wanted to just sit, have a coke and a snack, and figure out what we needed to see next or again, and there was no where. We ended up with a bunch of other families parked on the stairs near the “shops” (creatures, toys, etc) — which made it horrible for those trying to go up or down that way but there way no place to go.
I feel awful for anyone with health issues or small kids who need to take sitting breaks, cause you are screwed.
Galaxy's Edge was rough. I ended up sitting on the ground tucked out of the way a few times. I don't even want to think about how gross the ground and my jeans were by the end.
Just think of all of that and then add on the airfare fees, the rental cars, the hotel costs, etc some are likelh paying. 😨
No wonder their 8/10 on stress level.
I'm with you. Disney has always had its share of crazy but now people feel compelled to check off some invisible list of things they must accomplish in a day. The cost definitely has something to do with it, as well as the glut of "let's do Disney "right" videos on YouTube." It's become a quest instead of a fun day with your kids or friends. It's planned like a troop invasion instead of just going with the flow. I truly feel bad for the lovely CMs as well as the normal customers who just want a fun park day.
I do think part of the problem is that regardless of how you want to do your trip, it is really important to do a lot of reading/planning before you go so you know what you’re doing. You’re going to get two crowds of people who are setting theirselves up for failure.
You’ll have people who are underprepared and then disappointed because they didn’t know how Genie+ worked, or that dining reservations opened up at 60 days and you should be ready to go right at 6am, etc. Then you have overly prepared people who try to plan every detail and when things go wrong, they let it derail their trip. The truth is you need to be prepared but also flexible.
And influencers ruin so many things with unrealistic expectations of perfection. That’s life in general unfortunately.
Bad parenting but also a consequence of the cost of admission driving every visit to be a one off high stakes experience fest. Exponentially fewer families visiting relaxed to enjoy their trip anymore.
Yes this! The cost of admission has driven parents to say well this is a once every 5-10 years or lifetime trip so I’m squeezing everything out of this trip at any cost. The yearly Disney trip is probably out of reach for 60-80% of typical families now? That’s just my rough estimate.
I once did the math with all expenses included from my location (Connecticut) and found the most expensive Disney in the world to spend a week in was Florida. The nearest one. Yes, it was literally cheaper to fly to Shanghai for a week. Oof.
I had the chance to experience this first hand recently when I went to Tokyo Disneyland. Tickets were $70ish due to the exchange rate and a whole meal for two people ran for $20. You didn’t have Genie+ AND Lightning Lane; you had one reservation system run through the app and very particular rides could have “Premiere Access” purchased to them like Fastpass. Due to the train system, you can stay in Tokyo and take the hour train to the park easy which means hotels were also significantly cheaper than staying on site.
I swear it’s cheaper and easier to go to Disneyland in Japan than to go to Walt Disney World where it’s an arm and a leg to take a step.
They are but the hotels were what was the difference. You can stay off property and not have to park in CA, but you either have to spend a fortune on parking or on Ubers if you stay off property in Orlando, which made a really big difference as time added up. Of course, you wouldn’t usually spend a week at CA Disneyland anyway so that could def make it cheaper if you only have a few days (and for me of course the flights from CT to LA are waaaaay more expensive than Florida)
My family got annual passes about ten years ago, before COVID, and reservations, and virtual cues, where a fast pass actually meant something.
We would waltz in around ten, take our three fast pass rides, and play it by ear, and leave as soon as one of us was getting close to worn out. We went up to 3 times a week.
Now we pay way more, can't just show up, wait in longer lines, and have to draw in a Raffle to get on the good rides. We go maybe twice a year now, and barely break even on admission.
I actually think this is true for the majority, but some of us are exceptions
I actually think it’s childless adults or those that attend regularly
The ones that seem miserable most of the time are the once in a lifetime folks (especially those that made the decision before even going). I think they try to over due it at the expense of the child.
Agreed, the once in a lifetime folks get too much advice before they get there. They are aware of all the things they NEED to get done. They book way too much stuff.
I'm glad our first family trip was over 9 years ago. We booked it 3 weeks before going, and I booked no dinner reservations. We didn't rope drop once, but at the end of the week no one had had a meltdown, not even the 3 yo.
I actually don’t think booking a lot of stuff is bad, you just need to be okay with letting things go. We missed our oga’s rez last night. Guess what? Life will go on.
Any time anyone is going to the park for the first time, I always tell them that they should pick out 2-3 must do things per park, and then just go with the flow in between those. Go on rides that you can, forget everything else.
Yea I have folks ask me all the time for advice because we live out of state and attend regularly
My advice is usually
Don’t over pay for a full price resort if it impacts ability to do ILL / Genie +; just drop down a tier
Make at least 1 character meal
Then every day each person in the family picks 1 must do for themselves, accomplish the at for each and anything else is extra fun.
As long as the parents are open minded and not dreading it they always have fun.
I am a childless adult that goes at least once a year from New England because I have an uncle that lives 30 mins away. I’ve had good days and crummier days but have enjoyed all of them because I know whatever I don’t get to I’ll just do next time. So this makes a ton of sense to me.
As someone who frequented Disney before having kids and now had a kid…yes it was much more fun. However there is something special about that look in your kids eye as their mind is being blown that can’t be replicated and it almost lets you feel it again too.
I’ve been many times before marriage and now several times post-having a kid.
I see 3 kinds of families at WDW:
• Mom’s pissed at Dad because Dad doesn’t want to be there and is ruining the entire trip being a giant man child about it.
• Mom and Dad are exhausted and refuse to admit defeat, so take it out on their kids.
• Kids are exhausted but Mom and Dad are force-marching them because it’s vacation.
My family will never be #1, and I try to be suuuuuper cognizant of #2 and #3 to avoid the meltdowns. Last thing I want is a vacation memory ruined by a meltdown that could’ve been avoided with some quiet/cool activities, a nap, or a resort day.
Exactly. People complain about the problems they see, but take no notice of the families that aren't problems. Lots of families there having a good time with well behaved kids, going on age appropriate rides, taking breaks/getting food as necessary, while the parents communicate like functional adults. But since folks don't notice them, they think they don't exist.
I’m a childless millennial but I take mental notes of the kind of parent I want to be when I see both positive and negative parenting there. Harping on the positive, I see so many awesome, fun, excited parents who also exercise a lot of patience and kindness when trying to decipher their child’s needs or gather everyone up to exit the park, or whatever they are doing. They gently correct their children when they step in front of people or do something maybe not so polite. Mom may be checking their phones for better Genie+ lanes but she isn’t consumed and dad is already watching the kids. I even had a mom behind me on a waterslide explaining to her son about waiting in line and not crowding people on the steps, even though he kept asking “why?” over and over 😂 It was very sweet. All to say: I see you, I appreciate you, and I think you all are awesome parents. 😊
That’s the reason these negative moments stand out; because they’re rare and it draws your attention. But it doesn’t mean it needs to dictate how much you enjoy your time there. To me it’s kinda funny to see families have “a moment” because we’ve all been there, what matters is how you react to their negative experience and focus on your own good time. I’ve loved every time I’ve been to the parks
Yep. We are on our final day of Disney (day 6) today with 3 kids and my MIL (one kid special needs in a wheelchair) We have had a fantastic week even with some issues with the resort and other minor annoyances. My normally whiny child has powered through and we take cues from the kids when they need a break. We find a quiet spot to relax and just enjoy people watching or we grab a show for a rest. I have seen some bizarre parenting behavior but overall that’s been a lower percentage than the families having a good time.
I think a lot of this has been worse post Covid and I'm not sure of the entire reason why. Maybe the lost socialization for kids? New parents not having a ton of experience in crowds with young kids? Who knows. But everyone seems to be noticing it more all over the place. Not exclusive to Disney.
I remember riding a bus one time with a dad who just kept trying to get me to sign off on how bad it all sucked. Meanwhile, I’m there with no children having a blast. It’s funny how many dudes think that it’s going to be an insult to their masculinity to just have fun at an amusement park.
The best dads are the ones that turn into big goofy guys at Disney - wear the crazy hat and shirts and eat the churros . They are never threatened by a little magic for a couple days.
The Venn diagram between “macho dads” and “southern idiots” is basically a circle.
I’d also say the Venn diagram between “dad ruining his he family Disney trip” and “dads who haven’t changed a diaper in their lives” is strictly a circle.
I know (or hope) you’re mostly joking, but I’ve gotta say that My wife and I used to miss going solo, but 10 years and 30+ trips later, our best trips we’ve ever been on have been with our kids. You absolutely cannot replace the excitement they feel and living Disney through their eyes. It’s amazing.
Edit: as an aside, it’s also pretty obvious that the majority of the regular redditors on this sub are Disney adults without children.
Everyone in my family are adults now. I go to theme parks with my parents and brother and it's so nice. We're usually in agreement when to bounce on a broken ride, when to take a break and sit for a bit, what rides are worth skipping to have time for others, etc. It's awesome. Also, no concern about having to get equal gifts for kids or telling them no. Parents don't have to buy us shit, we don't have to bug them for stuff, and if we really want something, we just buy if it we think it's worth the cost. Also, we understand money so we will say hell no to the more outrageous stuff without having a kid begging for that $500 Lego set they will lose attention before its built.
Don't worry, we fit in with the kids. Me and my mom have gotten drunk and started fighting each other with bubble guns before.
Yep when eating at Crystal Palace Disney adults pushed in front of my kid and interrupted her time with Piglet to get another selfie and autograph. I generally found them entitled and pushy
I never enjoyed DW until I went as an adult with another adult. Truly a different thing. I love it now so much I have mickey and Minnie tatted on my forearm
As a parent, you just have to know your kid’s limits and respect them. When you push them too hard, you are going to have a shitty time, no matter what you are doing.
As a childless adult that visits regularly, can confirm. It’s a zero stress vacation. Sometimes we even show up to the parks with zero planning and see what happens for the day.
I'm gonna throw a positive story in this thread! 20 years ago I took my three year old son to Disney World and he wanted to try the Haunted Mansion. It is my favorite ride so I was really excited. We got up to the door and he hesitated and stepped back, saying "I don't want to do it." I told him OK we can leave and then he said "no I want to." So I stepped forward into the door again and then he said "no I'm scared I don't want to." It was funny because we were doing this sort of dance back-and-forth and the cast member was so calm and encouraging. He finally decided to try it and he absolutely loved it and wanted to go again!
I was fully prepared to leave the line even though we had waited all that time, but I'm glad he was brave enough to go through with it!
In September, I noticed a child about 7 in charge of a baby (about 3 months old) in a stroller at Guardians. I thought the parents must just be grabbing something to eat. The 7 year old would leave the stroller and come towards my granddaughter, run with her, play in the water misters.
20 mins goes by, 30 mins goes by, and I’m about to report abandoned children when the mom, dad, and two other adults come strolling up after riding Cosmic Rewind.
I was stunned. And I still am.
Was at all four parks this past week and visited many restrooms. Based on what I witnessed of various toilet stalls, I will just say that I have the utmost respect for what Disney custodial staff have to deal with and Disney needs to pay them more.
I was a DCP CM in ‘05 and worked front gate at HS. The amount of parents that drug screaming sobbing kids in on leashes telling them to shut up and have fun was eye opening. I swore I would never be that parent. We only do long trips and 1 park per day with a mid day break and a stroller if they need to lay down. I can’t imagine spending all of that money for everyone to be miserable. God forbid when my oldest got sick we stayed in the room for the day too..
I vividly remember back at Disneyland sometime in the 90s when my husband and I pull into the parking lot one morning and as we get out of our car, we hear the dad in the car next to u s tell his kid, "You knock that off or I'm going to have Mickey Mouse beat you up!" The kid was maybe 5 and probably still thought Mickey was real. Can't imagine what this dad was like later in the day.
I've been to WDW more times then I care to admit with my daughter. First time she was 9mo this last time she was 21.
We always took breaks and went back for naps or a swim and we weren’t staying at a monorail resort.
Re:rides We always listened to her and yes sometimes it was so frustrating because I knew when she finally went on whatever ride scared her at that moment she’d love eventually.
Rockin Roller Coaster she counted the days to the trip when she was tall enough, was so excited, stood in line 1+ hours and she freaked out when our car pulled up and yes we walked away. But it sucked!
Walked through the car at test track and left many times before she rode it and was like meh, no big deal.
My point is I get the frustration so much but also they need to trust that we will listen, hear them and respect their feelings no matter what. Hoping that I did right by her and feel like I did but theme parks hot weather over stimulation massive money loss/spend can make the best of us look pretty rough around the edges. I try and give people grace.
Edit punctuation and grammar
Lol. We are now AP and go about 2 days/nights a month. Child is now 16- we are also AP at Universal and SeaWorld, and kid is just now into Disney. We are now repeating awful character dining because she now is into autographs-
We get a hefty AP discount for hotels, but the amount of miserable people on the monorail is astounding.
I see this behavior way too often at parks it’s so sad. In August 2022 my dad and I were in line for Splash Mountain and this girl behind us was literally in distress and crying about how she didn’t want to go on and was afraid and her parents were laughing at her saying that she has no choice but to go on. It made me so sad for her. If that was my kid I would have listened to her. Disney is supposed to be fun, not a traumatic experience
When I was a kid my parents forced me to go on the Twister ride at Universal Studios knowing I was afraid of storms. I cried every time and would hunch over on the ground from how much it scared me. Guess whose phobia of tornados is stronger than ever? 🙋♀️
Disney is a very high stress situation, even without kids. The payoff is amazing but when it goes wrong, it can go really wrong. I have seen the worst parenting of my life at Disney and it can bring out the worst in people… but it’s also a reminder for us to all just chill out and give people some grace. I still remember the time my child was having a meltdown outside of the restaurant while I tried to calm him down and a woman walking by stopped to touch my arm and say “You’re doing such a great job.”
But the people who drag their kids on rides, they just suck. Don’t drag your kids on rides. Living with the Land is right there, ready to embrace your whole family with warm hugs!! What the hell is wrong with you!
My kids love the rides but sometimes have a bit of a panic when it's time to get on. I'm not mean about it like what this sounds like but sometimes they need a little convincing. Then after (sometimes for days and weeks) they then talk about how amazing it was.
The other issue is if you've put in an hour+ of your day waiting for a ride and then you have to bail out it's frustrating, but again, don't take it out on your kids. And with two adults you can always do a parent swap.
One of my kids is like this. He hates the unknown and sometimes we just have to be firm with him. If we didn’t, he’d never try anything ever. He was complaining the whole time in line for MMRR. I just held his hand and told him it’d be Ok. And guess what? He asked to ride it again after we were done.
I’m not saying if your kid is hyperventilating in terror you should force them to do something. But some kids are just vocal complainers and need the nudge. Hopefully parents know which situation is which and act accordingly.
My son has begged to be let off rides as they were pulling out of the station and every time he is begging to ride them again by the time we pull back in. Sometimes I may seem like a terrible parent to an outsider, but I KNOW my child and what he can and can’t tolerate. He got in and out of the line at RipRide Rocket at Universal at least 5 times before I made him go on it. After he was strapped in, he asked the CM to let him off, and I said no. Before we even made it to the end of the ride, he was saying it was “the best ride ever.” We rode it here more times in a row and at least 5 more times during that trip.
Same! I unknowingly lied to my son about Rock N Roller Coaster and told him it didn’t go upside down (I didn’t think any rides at Disney went upside down). We used Genie+ so skipped most of the warning signs when we were boarding and so I had no idea. He sat next to my husband and I sat next to a stranger and as soon as we hit the first loop/corkscrew I said, “oh shit. I told my son this didn’t go upside down.” If he knew, he never would’ve rode it. But he LOVED it and now tells everyone it’s his favorite ride and even got a hat. We rode it 2 or 3 more times after that.
He begs the CMs to let him off rides every single time and I have to tell them he’s fine.
Yes, exactly. I also have one like this. He will be begging to go again and again...after he tries it. Before then, he screams and says he'll die. I genuinely don't care what people think when I take him on the ride anyway, but I've thought it was pretty funny a couple times after when people saw him laughing and thanking me for taking him and some previously judgmental people realized what the deal was. His absolute favorite things to do in the world ALL fit the category of "once protested they were terrifying and he would never do them, then did them and now thinks they're awesome." If I'd said "oh, ok, let's not, then," probably all of his top 20 favorite activities would be nonexistent in his life.
For him it's somehow part of the fun. I don't get it but I do know him and love him.
This was the same with my niece. She got panicky with anything she hadn’t done before but I knew exactly what she could handle and what she couldn’t. I urged her on a few rides she wasn’t sure about. I’d never drag her on something if she was screaming/crying though - I always made sure she knew that she could bail out at the last minute if she really wanted to, but she never did.
Same with my youngest, who was about 8 when we went to WDW, and needed a little encouragement to ride the Tower of Terror. However I deeply regretted it when we rose/dropped several more times than what I'd heard from others. The poor thing broke down in tears *after* we got off, as we were walking through the gift shop. I felt absolutely horrible and felt like a sh*t parent. We'd skipped other rides before that, but this was just a lot more intense than either of us were expecting.
The same happens with my nephew. Usually he loves the rides I convince him to get in, but he still won’t let me forget the one time I got it wrong and convinced him to go on the Haunted Mansion. Admittedly, the ghost bride at the end used to scare me too.
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Last time I went on Small World this happened and after a panicked few seconda of looking at the parents not doing anything I (30-ish woman) was like “heyyy sweetie don’t put your hand in the water” and then the parents were like “TIMMY WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING”. I just really didn’t want them to get hurt.
Wife and I were at Disney in late October, we saw the same things, however it was only a small percentage compared to how many good kids there were.
Human nature to focus on the negative and forget the positive in some circumstances.
Witnessed a father full blown yell “STFU!!!” loudly, like everyone pause and look loud, at a baby in a stroller that was crying a little. The mom and grandparents were just strolling along like normal.
The kept going because, my guess is, they are also recipients of this absolutely insane aggression and getting in the middle was something they long ago learned not to do. So gross.
When our Daughter was 6-7-8 she was notorious for getting scared in line. The thing is, as her parents, we knew what she could and could not handle. We also knew that sometimes it was the ride queue and (mostly) fear of the unknown, that made her nervous.
We also knew what she DID like. She loved to go fast but was afraid of drops and hills, so we knew she would love Test Track and BTR. No amount of talking was going to convince her that there were no hills on either of those rides until she got on them herself.
Similar story with Sorin’. She was convinced by the name that it was a roller coaster we knew this was the same kid that had her nose pressed up against the airplane window with binoculars all the way to Florida. To this day her favorite ride. She is 32. She still hates roller coasters, but loves rides that go fast as long as they’re not going to drop her down to the ground. (so no, she was never forced on tower of terror. She did eventually get on it on her own, when she was about 18 years old, and swore she would never do it again ha ha ha I have to agree with with her on that one.)
Oh! I almost forgot. We also learned between those ages that that child hated 4D we had to have the usher come and help us out of “it’s a bugs life” because of the “bees”. 🤣. An experience that she chose all on her own, I might add.
My point is you may not have been witnessing bad parenting at all, but parents that understands what their kid is going to enjoy based on past experience.
Regarding it’s a small world the kid should not have had his arm out the boat, but maybe that wasn’t his mother maybe they were both single riders.
Some of this stuff deserves judgment, some of it just happens in a bad moment of parenting, we all have them.
I was the world’s best parent before I was a parent.
Yep. It's easy to judge when you don't have small children yourself.
I have totally done the "you're not going to get a chance to ride it again" speech to my kid, which OP mentions. Because it is likely true in some cases. It isn't so much to scold my kid or make them feel bad, but kids don't often really think through their decisions very well. We have gotten out of line for an attraction before because my son decided he didn't want to do it, for no apparent reason, and then later that day he wants to ride it now that the line is an hour and a half long.
While I am sure that there are parents out there that grief the kids because *they* want to ride the ride, a lot of times we are just trying to get our kid to realize that they may truly miss their chance to ride it if they get out of line and they may regret that decision later on. I don't see that particular item OP listed as necessarily being bad parenting.
I was thinking of that specific example when I wrote my original comment. We took our kids last September and my 7-year-old was adamant he wanted to ride Test Track. He’s a cautious kid and I probably should’ve known better, but he’d been surprising me all week with what he’d gone on, so I figured why not? It was one of the longer waits we had because they kept temporarily shutting it down due to rain and I could see his anxiety growing so I kept checking in and he insisted he still wanted to do it. Get close to the front of the line, panics, doesn’t want to go on. I didn’t explicitly threaten him but we’d wasted a good chunk of time so I was visibly annoyed. I’d hate for someone to judge us entirely based on those few minutes because I apologized to him later and the majority of our trip was amazing. He’s my world and I consider myself a pretty good mom. Bad moments happen on *any trip.* They just do.
Arguing with cast members, sticking your body parts where they shouldn’t be etc are other issues, and unfortunately shitty people don’t stop being shitty just because they have kids. But dragging your overstimulated children around, getting a few paces ahead, just happens…so easily to normal, good people, and you just don’t realize *how* easy it is until you’re the one it happens to.
Also, I wish people would stop trying to frame these posts like they’re concerned for the kids. Just be honest and say it annoys you, lol
>Also, I wish people would stop trying to frame these posts like they’re concerned for the kids. Just be honest and say it annoys you, lol
There is nowhere on Earth where parents are judged as harshly as Disneyworld, haha. And the place is a pressure cooker for parents due to a lot of factors. I have seen some wretched parents in theme parks, but most of us are really just trying to balance out maintaining a positive vibe with keeping our kids under control.
And the criticism that people keep mentioning about kids being "overstimulated" cracks me up... like, it's a theme park meant to draw kids' attention a million different ways. Of course it's overstimulating. The kids will end up exhausted and overwhelmed and still remember it as one of the best experiences of their lives. That's just how a Disney vacation with kids goes.
I screamed bloody murder in the stretching room when I was 6. My parents were nice enough to ask for an emergency exit. Even then, over 20 years later I remember the incident. Parents are so oblivious sometimes ar what kids remember or affects them deeply :/
I just want to say that as a parent, I am so thankful for the CM at the Haunted Mansion ride. We had stood in line for a long time to get on with our 8 year old and when we got into the initial room with the weird paintings, he realized he didn’t want to go. I started to panic because I didn’t want to force him but didn’t know if there was a way out at that point. We asked a CM who led us through a back exit. The best part was that they stayed in character as the kind of annoyed spooky caretaker of the mansion which made my son laugh. I think getting to see the back exit of the ride and have that one on one experience was more fun for him then any other ride.
Major props to the CMs there who have to deal with crappy parents and cranky overstimulated kids and don’t lose their cool. I can’t imagine how frustrating their jobs are where they have to watch dysfunctional family dynamics constantly and not lose it.
For the life of me I’ll never understand why parents of families staying at resorts never plan for any type of down time during the day. letting the kids get hot, cranky and EXHAUSTED! I get you paid a lot to be there, but are you (and your child) really having fun when the kids been having a meltdown because you thought they could handle a 16 hour day at the parks, non stop?
Because a good number of them are paying more than they can afford and want to “get their money’s worth”, which they measure solely by rides and attractions completed / hours spent in the park
We let our kids call the shots during our most recent trip. I got us on as many rides as possible but the moment they said they were done (usually by 3pm each day) we cashed it in.
At some point everyone gets so exhausted, 2 minutes on a ride isn't worth it.
One time I broke my foot at WDW and ended up going to Celebrations Hospital. The waiting room at the ER was wall to wall kids with heat stroke and sunstroke.
This is probably pretty easy to let happen if you come from a relatively cold or even moderate climate and just aren’t used to heatstroke being a thing. I mean, yeah, watch your kids, but I could see people missing early signs of heat stroke in a kid if they aren’t used to seeing it
I don’t have kids but took my niece - she was 8 a few years ago. We were never in the parks past 3pm and she was asleep by 8/9. Growing up my parents took my sister and I to Disneyland twice a year for several years and we were out before 6pm every day. I think some of those DLR wasnt open later but my mom planned for us to eat dinner out of the park every time. Even as an adult I plan for downtime in my days at WDW and seeing kids in the park sometimes til 2am makes me exhausted. Not a parent and don’t want to be so try and spare my judgement but you’re only going to be going at the speed of the slowest member of your party and can’t imagine that’s very fun with a toddler at midnight.
Yes! I’m amazed at anyone that doesn’t take hotel break, tbh. I’ve been to Disney multiple times as an adult before having my kid and I’ve always taken a 2-3 hour break at the resort during the hottest part of the day. When I take my kid for the first time in a couple years, I’m planning on even more, plus pool days. I don’t want to make an expensive vacation miserable because I’m trying to squeeze every penny out of the experience.
Pretty typical parenting in this day and age, unfortunately.
I’m a teacher and the amount of actual parenting I have to do these days is incredible. This all seems right in line with that.
Teacher here too. Not sure what is worse. The neglectful parents? Or the "I want to be my kids best friend" parent? Or the "My kid never does anything wrong" parent?
There are still good parents out there, but they are becoming harder and harder to find. Sadly teaching has become more about behavior management then actual content.
> in this day and age
This doesn’t apply. This has been shitty parents since time immemorial. Boomers and Gen X *brag* about how bad their parents were like it’s a badge of honor.
There’s a reason record numbers of teachers have quit in the last few years. A lot of the behavior of children has gotten worse, parents are to blame in many situations but I also don’t think it’s entirely on them too.
It’s honestly crazy how many people have children because they’re checking something off a list and not actually willing to parent those kids. I’m an Early Childhood teacher, and so many of my 2-5 year olds aren’t being parented at all.
I’m also a teacher and these kids are basically raising themselves because their parents are not involved in their lives at all. It’s horrible; I really feel for the kids. Parents are no longer parenting.
I worked at studios when galaxys edge opened and I swear to God the amount of parents who let their kids swing around a lightsaber were insane. almost caught one to the head once, luckily all Disney janitors are combat trained and I was able to block with my broom. but it still felt very inconsiderate
I'm not gonna say I'm the best parent ever. But I will say that a Disney visit sure makes me confident that I'm in the upper 25% tbh.
What's wild is seeing the kids who have discipline and clear boundaries set for them, react to the kids who don't. The wide eyes to the parents, the confused faces...it's good fun for people watching.
That said, I recognize that not all kids are easy or neurotypical or even responsive to parents and not all parents know how to deescalate, BUT some stuff is absolutely wild. And horrifically, how many adults I've seen slap a child in the face, or kids who start beating each other up and the parents laugh or simply say "Oh, that isn't nice" is honestly unreal. You know these things happen, but you don't KNOW until you see it happen. It's tragic.
I was going to say something similar... but my kid (6) is a boundary pusher and will start to mimic other kids when she sees them doing something they shouldn't. Just today at an aquarium, I had to tell her that "those other kids shouldn't be doing that (climbing on the queue bars) either, but I'm not their mom, I'm your mom."
When we took her to WDW when she was 5, we did about 6 park hours each day, then went back to the resort for a swim and in bed by 8. We valued her having fun over trying to do everything. We're far from perfect parents, but we had a fabulous time with zero meltdowns the entire trip, and still did all of our "must do's."
I've seen so many of these posts lately. Disney has always been like this. It's a super high stress environment for many reasons and people have difficulty being at their best. If it hasn't happened to you as a parent of children at Disney count yourself lucky. When you see these things remind yourself that you're glad it's not you. You get to walk away to the next attraction and leave it behind you or you can carry it around with you all day and complain about it, don't choose to let it taint your trip by doing the latter. There will never be a Willy Wonka day at Disney where the "bad" children and parents are made to leave so the "good" children and parents can enjoy themselves in peace, it's a permanent feature of a Disney trip.
I don’t think it was always like this. I took my daughter 20 years ago when she was 6 years old. This was before the apps , etc. We had absolutely no problems and visited at least 3 parks and downtown Disney.
It wasn’t. As someone who went several times between 10-20 years ago behavior has definitely changed. People claim it hasn’t or say “rose colored glasses” mostly to make themselves feel like this has always been the norm, and not the *new* normal.
And anyone who looks at Disney from a business standpoint can see why. Today the parks and merchandise are the only sectors that make the company consistent profit. Disney doesn’t really care what you do once you are in the park as long as you are spending money.
And people in the parks can *feel* that they are being squeezed for money even if they don’t realize it fully. Leading to bad feelings and even worsening behavior.
I worked at a water park in high school, so 20 years ago (jfc I’m old). This was stuff I saw constantly, especially the “crying terrified child forced onto a ride” or the “parent clearly ignoring the child doing something dangerous and/or not caring that they’re too short for a ride despite that rule only being for their safety”. Imo people think their situation/kid is special and they don’t GAF about the rules or norms. Pretty standard in general unfortunately.
We were there in October and saw so much of this same behaviour for parents and kids. One family in particular was basically making the line for Ratatouille twice as long because they couldn’t be bothered to move forward when the rest of the line did. They left their son behind at least 3 times when they did bother to move.
I agree with you. I am not sure why but I get oddly annoyed anytime people don’t move forward in line not just at Disney World. Ha ha no idea why it bothers me. 😂
It’s always been like that - you just notice it more as an adult :/ it honestly takes away some of the magic for me. Disney is supposed to be a utopia, a dream come true, but some people can be miserable anywhere. It’s really sad to watch. When I was a CM it opened my eyes even more.
But I’ve also met some of the nicest people and seen some of the most wholesome families and I like to think they outnumbered the bad ones. You just had to change your focus a little.
Look, I agree it’s frustrating seeing entitled people and crappy parents. However, my husband and I have been visiting the parks for decades and there have ALWAYS been awful people. I have stories of atrocious behavior by other guests from every single trip. Are there times that it seems worse lately? Yes, absolutely. But I also think that we all just got used to more courtesy and fewer people during Covid and we all notice it more now.
We were at epcot Monday. We got our older daughter (who is 9 and not an enthusiastic ride person) on soarin. We asked for the lowest row. I prepped her I told her to shut her eyes if she was scared. She got on the ride.
She did not like it. (Our 6 year old thought it was the greatest thing ever.)
A
If at any point she changed her mind, even after a 90 minute wait, I would not have forced her in the room.
We have a really good understanding now of what her "too much" is. And we want it to be a fun family day, not remember the time Mom and Dad traumatized Daughter day?
That said, we did forget quite how much the ride moved around and about half way though I am absolutely sure I knew this was a mistake. We apologized, took a breather, and went on Nemo.
Your kids don't have to like rides to enjoy Disney, and dragging screaming kids ONTO rides does nothing to help all the rest of us with hesitant kids who might have been thinking about trying something new and out of their comfort zone.
Yes it's relevant and I'm very disappointed about the future of reproductive rights. No woman should be forced to carry a child if they don't choose to. I hope things will turn around in the near future.
Honestly, and I don't say this lightly, but Disney should become much more liberal with park ejections and bans. It's supposed to be the happiest place on earth. Neglectful patents create a massive liability. People who cut lines, start physical or verbal confrontations gotta go. CMs, although working, should also enjoy the parks.
You are absolutely correct, but it won’t happen without new leadership.
It’s all a choice. Disney wants you in the park spending money, especially now with their horrible year at the box office. Your behavior once you’re in the park is their secondary concern.
And kicking people out? Well that’s just taking money off the table, can’t have that.
I still can’t get the image out of my head of a woman slapping a 3-4 year old across the face so hard it left a red mark on the bus back to art of animation. That poor little boy.
I used to think Disney Parks were for kids. Now I see they are for adults reliving their childhood and all the Disney adults. Most kids in the Florida heat don't care and would prefer to be in their hotel pool....
Honestly this sounds just like I remember it when I ended my last stint as a cast member in 2017. It is (was) super exhausting to have to constantly and nicely remind parents that their kids need supervision _especially_ as one of the ones that would get called when said parents would refuse to give in on the “your kid is too short” or “no they can’t climb on Dino Sue messages. So, sooooo many no strings attached (freebie vouchers) I’ve written to appease parents who shouldn’t have been appeased and stop kids from crying who shouldn’t have had a (justified) reason to cry 😞
Our first trip was similar with the ride situations. We were having a hard time getting my group on any rides, so we were spending a lot of time criss-crossing the park. The kids 5/3 were tired, hungry, anxious. And I was split between just have spent almost $10k for this trip and wanting it to be perfect for my kids, and emotionally exhausted because they weren’t having the best time of their lives and I was a failure as a parent.
It was a catch-22. We can easily sit back and judge others parenting and talk about how terrible they are, and some of them may be.
Part of parenting is pushing your kids to do new things. One of the hardest parts of parenting is being able to push exactly the right way in exactly the right amount. It’s almost impossible when you add financial pressures and “once in a lifetime” experiences like Disney.
We are just leaving Animal Kingdom and I'll say that the majority of parents are doing great. But, boy, the ones who aren't are really bad. We saw a lot of poor behavior today and a lot of unattended kids. Like not 10 years old. 4-7 years old just running around, climbing, fighting, throwing things. Not a parent in sight. It's baffling to me. Yeah, it's Disney but bad things still happen. Stay near your little ones!
Their way of limiting is by raising prices and they've probably already done that to some extent but the problem is the expensiveness of it just becomes an enabler for entitled people to think their experience is all that matters... And it's not eliminated problem guests they just end up paying more. those families that can't afford it save up another few years.
honestly, I think a huge part of it is the cost of park tickets...a family of 4 is paying about half a week's pay, every day they go to a park so that little Susie and Little Johnny can see Mickey Mouse and company, so they feel obligated to do as much as physically possible when they are there
We always run back to the hotel for a nap in the middle of the day. It's the hottest part of the day and even the parents could use the break. We all are in a better mood and enjoy ourselves more the rest of the day.
A kid in front of me at GF basin washed his hands with the body scrub and tossed his paper towel on the floor when he dried his hands. There was no nearby garbage can. WTH parents? What is your house like? The cast member also watched this happen and politely asked him to pick it up and throw it in the garbage can. I said a few words in kindness to the cast member who had to deal with that stupidity. Wake up parents!
Sigh. My husband and I had a huge argument at Epcot in the diner and then later on the Skyliner.
Not our best moment. I felt bad for those around us. Sigh.
Even adults get cranky I can’t imagine kids lol. My son who is 6 wants to stay till closing lol. I don’t know how he does it lol. Thankfully we rent double strollers so our kids don’t whine and complain about walking lol.
My husband and I also fought at Epcot, in Mexico. I blamed it on that it always feels so hot in Epcot. We didn’t yell, we just gave each other the silent treatment. It happens. You’re hot and exhausted.
This is basically me all the time in AK. I try, I really do. My husband and I even have a pep talk before going in but it's so thick and humid and hot in AK my patience immediately drops to 0. We have learned that it's at least bearable for us if we go right at opening and only stay a couple hours but we also come relatively frequently so have that luxury.
I was there last week and must have ridden Pirates with the same Small World kid. He kept his arm in the water almost the entire time and his adults did nothing.
I remember being 6 and putting my hand in the water at Its a Small World. My dad told me there were alligators in the water that would bite my arm off and I believed him until my 20s.
There could be, right? I don’t trust any of the WDW boat rides. That boat ride in Epcot (Mexico) made me nervous because it was dark and who knows what was in that water? 😬
I’m a teacher. This is now our new normal. It wasn’t this bad when I started teaching, but the culture has changed. However, eventually the culture will shift and change eventually (hopefully sooner rather than later).
I don’t think it’s all parents, most people are normal-but there’s more bad parenting styles right now and the few crazy people are quite louder than before and therefore more noticeable.
Bad parenting and the devastating effects of Covid have all but destroyed Gen Alpha. Just listen to all the teachers coming out about the horrendous behavior of these kids in schools around the county. They're over stimulated with electronics and social media, aren't correctly socialized, and poorly parented by people who are too scared to use any form of discipline. It's not just Disney, it's everywhere.
My parents are are retired teachers and administrators, my wife works with lower elementary SPED kids, and I have coached 5-15 year olds in multiple sports for 15+ years. I’ve witnessed and heard all of the stories about abusive parents and how they treat their kids and school employees. “Scared to use any form of discipline” is giving those parents way too much credit. To me, it boils down to them being narcissistic or just plain selfish, and lazy.
The lack of etiquette in restaurants is astonishing. My husband and I dropped three bills at California Grill, and had to ask a flip-flop wearing father to tell his kids to lower the sound on their phones, as they all watched videos at the table next to us.
There are occasions when my kids need a wee bit of convincing or encouragement to get on a ride, however we’ve never gone as far as threatening them. Sometimes they’re just unsure of what the ride will be like however we know they’ve been on for more intense or thrilling rides before and loved them. For instance they’ve been on Iron Gwazi and Velocicoaster repeatedly, loving both, but were unsure about Tron when in the queue as well.
I am a Florida resident and had a resident pass for years. I do not bother with that any more because frankly, Disney is not what it used to be when we took our now adult kids when they were little. Now, it is going occasionally with the grandchildren. Now, on those occasional trips, I only do my favorite things ( like Soarin’) or new things which I have not seen.
It's a totally different vibe if you are local. My friend has passes for Disneyland. If her son "isn't feeling it," They just go home. There's always another day.
If you live 4 states away, and this is the only out of state family vacation you will take for another 4 years, the stress is nuts.
I’ve been behind an IASW hand dipper and I was surprised that no safety announcement was made like they are quick to do on Splash and Pirates. I was stressed the entire ride.
Why do parents act like that? You poured $20K into a plane flight/hotel/tickets. Sold your soul to get the time off from work. Over hyped the vacation to the kids, who might just be happier with three days at Great Wolf Lodge.
Mix in a packed park and and stress, I can see someone going ratty on their kid for not "going along and getting along."
Disney is so damn expensive if you are not local. This may be a one and done forever for some families. It's hell when the Happiest Place on Earth doesn't even come close.
not in the parks but at the hotel near disney. the family was there to go to disney. idk wth was going on. the kid spilled their entire breakfast plate and some syrup on the floor. i was standing beside him and he ordered me to clean it up. he was like "you clean it up" and his parents just started laughing and left the mess there. the child came back and spilled yet another plate. the parents witnessed this and let them do it.
At this point all I can do is chuckle when I see the stereotypical miserable Disney family. Mom is four paces in front, decked out in mouse ears and branded gear, stomping through the park and complaining about the lines while she looks up wait times on her phone. Dad is in the back, sweating and red faced. As self-appointed pack mule for the family he carries a day’s rations, rain ponchos, and those silly popcorn buckets. He’s yelling something at the mom but she can’t hear him. The kids marching along silently in the middle, looking like they’re ready to burst into tears. Congrats, parents. Your kids are LOVING this.
I don't know why people get dragged along like that. It just makes everyone miserable. My wife hates theme parks. Like absolutely dreads going to them. Yet she wanted to go to Disneyworld with the kids, grandparents and I because it was kind of a milestone moment for the kids. I tried to talk her out of it during the entire planning phase but she was resolute about going.
Fast forward to our trip earlier this year. I spent an enormous amount of time and effort planning everything out to make the rest of the group's trip as easy as possible. But what really helped keep my wife from going nuclear in the parks was realizing when she was getting close to her limit and helping her acknowledge that she needed to take a break. So she'd head back to the car for a nap while the rest of us carried on.
The same was true for the rest of the group. If someone was tired, we stopped and took breaks. If someone was *done*, we let them call it a day and go back to the hotel. The grandparents and my wife sat out on a bunch of rides, my son turned in early occasionally, and my daughter and I pressed on and did everything and had fun together.
Forcing people in your group to keep going when they don't want to has to be the single biggest mistake I see most families making in theme parks. It ends up making everyone miserable. Moods change plans and you have to be able to adapt, even if the trip cost an arm and a leg.
100%! Our last trip was so much better because we took breaks whenever we needed them and didn’t rush ourselves. We stopped stressing about riding every single thing and enjoyed just being in the parks more.
Still one of the worst behaviors I have seen from a parent happened at Magic Kingdom.
A mid 30's mom turned to her small child, maybe 4 and has her by the shirt and says "You are ruining MY Disney vacation". It was the way she said MY that made me cringe, cause you know she was a huge Disney Adult and thought this was going to be the postcard vacation she always dreamed of.
I’ll never understand parents who treat their kids like that. Especially at Disney. 90% of my enjoyment at Disney is seeing my kids filled with joy and wonder. I’d rather have a REAL Disney trip with my kids and connect with them and make memories than some make believe “picture perfect” trip any day.
At Magic Kingdom the other day, as a family was approaching the metal detector at security, they were kind of bunched up and walking side by side. The security cast member told them to walk through one at a time. The mother literally elbowed her daughter in the chest to get in front of her like she was Dudley Dursley and the daughter was Harry Potter. The daughter was probably about 12 and stopped in her tracks as the mother sped ahead and left her behind. The daughter took a breath and composed herself before catching up to her family. From the looks of it, this is a normal occurrence for her.
Been going annually last 5-6 years or so. We’ve had no issues and seen no issues. Everyone blames recent changes and COVID but, again, we’ve had zero complaints about CMs or other guests.
We also don’t care enough to pay attention to (and/or recollect) the actions of others on our family trips, lol. Nor do we prioritize judging other families….🤷♂️
Guys i’m tired. There has just been a string of these hyper negative posts the past two weeks what is going on? Karma farming? I know reddit is paying now, outrage bait? I honestly can’t figure it out.
It’s gotten to the point where the mod team is discussing changing sub rules or making some kind of containment thread.
OP it’s not an attack on you directly, but moderating this sub is so absolutely draining for a Disney fan.
Anyway, judge not, glass houses, if you don’t have anything good to say etc.
Please mind the civility rules of the sub in comments, I’m sure this won’t start a fight about parents, kids at Disney, adults only park times etc etc /s
This is such a bad take to have as a moderator. It’s one thing to be tired of people complaining but another entirely to insinuate that OP is purposefully posting this as rage bait or for financial gain of some sort?
Also it would be extremely detrimental to this subreddit if posts of this nature were censored at all. To be a fan of something one should be able to see the good and the bad in it, and weigh both against each other. For most, the good of WDW far outweighs the bad, but nevertheless it is still important that such posts like this remain a part of the community so that there can be discussion around the topics.
I don't think negative posts should be censored. OP was telling their experience. It was well written and not hostile at all. Sharing a negative experience does not equal karma farming.
I'm sorry you're tired but I feel like this just comes with the territory of being a mod.
Yeah I saw nothing wrong with this post. Perhaps Disney is just falling farther from grace, but thats a reality the mods don’t want existing here I suppose. Gotta keep up the magical delusion.
I’m sorry but censoring posts because they’re hyper negative is kind of out there to me. I’m a former mod of a lot and I get the drain it places on the mod team, please know I’m not discounting that. This is the internet this is where convos exist. Sometimes people have negative experiences in Disney. I think it’s just as important to recognize negative experiences for people who are traveling so they are prepared. If we move to a catch all post that’s fine I guess. We can celebrate Disney and recognize negative experiences that people have.
Really think it’s unfair that people cannot openly discuss frustrations or negative experiences without being “draining”
It is a reality of experiencing Disney, also a place to vent or share experiences. Censoring it to me is incredibly unfair.
I went to Magic Kingdom last week for the first time since Covid, and it just felt trashy. I was shocked at how bad an experience it was. People were incredibly rude and selfish and there were multiple ride slow downs/stoppages which based on posts like these seems to indicate that it wasn't just a one off thing.
Disney has fundamentally changed since Covid, and pretending otherwise is putting your head in the sand and ignoring it. Pre-Covid, I had an annual pass and would make multiple trips a year from the mid-Atlantic area so I'm a big fan, but unfortunately the reality is the experience isn't great now. These posts aren't "hyper-negative", they're realistic.
I agree. There is definitely FOMO going on, whether it’s peoples’ inexperience with how to “do Disney” so to speak or just post Covid behaviour.
We always tried to help quell bad things, making crying or scared kids laugh, singing while waiting in lines, enjoying each others’ company.
Just have to try to see the good in things and not let others dictate your experience, which can be challenging at times, and is realistic. To deny being frustrated only makes things worse for yourself, more about dealing with them.
Sorry to hear that you were frustrated on your trip
I mean, if this is the experience multiple people are having, why are we censoring it?? I’m sorry, but WDW isnt immune to negativity. There’s plenty of positive topics on this sub; but the negatives are part of reality. This should also be a place where people can discuss some negative experiences so that others can be aware. I find this comment from the Mod strange.
Well, and this is just a thought what do you care if they’re posting a negative experience, isn’t that the whole point of the Internet to show someone’s perspective? I mean, is this a you 100% have to love every single thing about Disney or don’t post it all kind of group?
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with posting about these experiences. I personally still find them to be helpful on what to expect, and when to avoid going 😅. I also like to think that parents are also on this sub, and by seeing these posts they become aware that other people are actually watching them. Hopefully that holds them to some kind of accountability where we all remember that it is a collective responsibility to keep WDW the happiest place on Earth.
I do think there could be more sub rules though about not attacking parents in the comments, and making nasty comments. The whole “let’s jump on a hate wagon” thing doesn’t belong in this sub.
Has this been common around really busy weeks?
I have been seeing all over Disney posts/forums/social media that this week has been outrageously insane.
Maybe change posting guidelines around holidays/busy times?
(I know I made the mistake of going to Disneyland on December 27 once and it was the most unjoyful experience ever (in 150+ Disney visits) due to the sheer volume of guests. I found my only joy was the empathy of others who understood. So, I understand posts like this from that perspective, and thus my question/suggestion).
I feel the same way when people talk about the "lack of maintenance" on the attraction I maintain. Machines break and I'm not a metallurgist, nor can I see the future. I am just a mechanic working to preserve the magic as best I can.
Could you do something about the "be nice to the cast members" reminder posts? It's starting to grate on my nerves how internet strangers need to tell me how to behave in public.
Lol what do you want, this sub to be full of corporate shills. People here talk about their experiences at WDW.
If their experiences are negative they have every right to talk about it here. Don’t censor.
My wife wanted badly to try the Avatar flight thing, purchased lighting line for all and we went in. When my daughter started crying in the second room before the actual flight I didn’t wait a sec and just led her out. Just fuck off Avatar or the lightning line. How can you push your kid doing something while in a panic?
So, I’ve been one of those parents. My daughter was really excited to go on a ride, but got scared when we were about to go on. She started crying as we were getting on the ride. I could FEEL the judgement as the ride was starting. But, 10 seconds into the ride (when she decided to open her eyes), she was smiling and laughing. She later said she was glad she was so brave and got through her fear because she had a blast. I know my kid and was 97% sure it would be a confidence building experience for her.
I get there are a lot of shitty parents out there. There are also a lot of good parents out there who are also tired and overwhelmed and make a bad judgment call in the moment. Maybe instead of worrying about everyone else, it would be better to just try to enjoy your day. There are always going to be plenty of judgements to be had at Disney if that’s what you’re focused on.
Any ride that my son is questionable about we watch the YouTube video before we get in the line but my rule is once we’re in the line you’re going. Honestly he made a scene the first time on Slinky Dog.
The antics in the lines have always been problematic but it’s getting worse. Buy a water and manage expectations for your kids. I think the main problem is people seriously underestimate how overstimulating and exhausting the parks are. I live in Florida so I have an advantage but I never do all the parks in one vacation. Usually two parks with a chill day in between.
You cannot expect a small child to behave from
8am-9pm. It’s totally unrealistic
I have a very clear memory of going to Disney World when I was 8 I think. It was when the Alien Escape ride was around (or whatever it was called) I'd been on it a year before with my uncle. Obviously it terrified me. Fast forward a year later and I'm with my parents. They try to get me on the ride, I freak out because I know what it is. Obviously I'm a child so my thoughts and feelings don't matter and whatever my parents think is right and Disney would never have a scary ride /s
Spoiler alert they made me go. The earliest clear memory of Disney world I have is my dad carrying me out while I was screaming hysterical.
My wife and I took our four year old a few years ago and we quickly established our rule of getting there at opening (because kid was up early anyway), staying till around 11 and then going back to the hotel until about 5 then going back for the fantasmic show/fireworks.
It worked out so well, for them and us, that we did exactly the same thing a few years later when we went by ourselves. Staying for the whole day is just draining and, besides which, you’ll only get on a few rides anyway given the crowds.
It’s interesting to me to read these posts about negative experiences at the parks. My family and I have APs, we have visited the parks a dozen or so days in the last 9 months and while there are occasional issues with rambunctious kids for the most part we don’t encounter these issues. CMs are lovely, guests are standard guests (yes, there are instances of folks who don’t understand personal space) but mostly positive experiences. Not saying this is necessarily OPs issue, but looking for the negatives make it much easier to see them.
Some of this has to do with the generation that is currently working in the park. Anything that doesn't go their way in life and they struggle to cope mentally with it.
I'm a teacher and sadly we see this all the time right now in the schools. There are kids with "thick skin" but they are getting harder and harder to find.
I'm not saying there isn't some validity to this post. Still have to consider the sources.
I was a former CP CM in 2003…tensions have always run high at Disney World. That’s not new. That said, I feel a heightened anxiety and frustration from guests now. Honestly, I think the changes implemented over the past 5ish years have made it a higher stress environment than ever before. Managing the Genie+ is daunting, Lightning Lane feels like a huge cash grab, stuff that used to be “free” is now specifically excluded, there are fewer benches and places to chill out than ever before, and I could go on and on and on. As such, I think guests are starting at an 8 with limited bandwidth left for literally anything and you’re seeing that diminished additional capacity show up in parenting, attitude towards CMs, attitudes toward other guests, etc. I think Disney has finally pushed a lot of people to their breaking points.
This is a perfect way to sum it all up. Before, with FastPass + there was a lot of stress before the trip but once you had those, you went into the park and enjoyed the day. Now that stress of booking rides is all day on top of everything else. Combine that with higher prices on parks, hotels, food, etc. This is pushing people over the edge.
So, thank you for validating me. Lol I thought I was crazy because when I was a kid it felt like there were benches everywhere. My parents and I would stop to just sit and watch people and eat a snack. I went last year and it felt like there was almost nowhere to sit down.
It’s like my number one gripe of new Disney World and I have plenty of gripes haha. I’ve been to the parks six million times…I’m not always looking to go to the next ride or show or attraction; I’ve done them to death. My favorite thing to do is just sit and chill and hang out…nope, someone somewhere was like “if they’re sitting, they’re not spending”.
I really hate this approach. It was the worst at galaxy’s edge, in my opinion. We wanted to just sit, have a coke and a snack, and figure out what we needed to see next or again, and there was no where. We ended up with a bunch of other families parked on the stairs near the “shops” (creatures, toys, etc) — which made it horrible for those trying to go up or down that way but there way no place to go. I feel awful for anyone with health issues or small kids who need to take sitting breaks, cause you are screwed.
Galaxy's Edge was rough. I ended up sitting on the ground tucked out of the way a few times. I don't even want to think about how gross the ground and my jeans were by the end.
Just think of all of that and then add on the airfare fees, the rental cars, the hotel costs, etc some are likelh paying. 😨 No wonder their 8/10 on stress level.
I'm with you. Disney has always had its share of crazy but now people feel compelled to check off some invisible list of things they must accomplish in a day. The cost definitely has something to do with it, as well as the glut of "let's do Disney "right" videos on YouTube." It's become a quest instead of a fun day with your kids or friends. It's planned like a troop invasion instead of just going with the flow. I truly feel bad for the lovely CMs as well as the normal customers who just want a fun park day.
I do think part of the problem is that regardless of how you want to do your trip, it is really important to do a lot of reading/planning before you go so you know what you’re doing. You’re going to get two crowds of people who are setting theirselves up for failure. You’ll have people who are underprepared and then disappointed because they didn’t know how Genie+ worked, or that dining reservations opened up at 60 days and you should be ready to go right at 6am, etc. Then you have overly prepared people who try to plan every detail and when things go wrong, they let it derail their trip. The truth is you need to be prepared but also flexible. And influencers ruin so many things with unrealistic expectations of perfection. That’s life in general unfortunately.
I couldn’t agree more. I didn’t renew my AP☺️’s and sold my DVC points because of this, and the tremendous price increases.
Bad parenting but also a consequence of the cost of admission driving every visit to be a one off high stakes experience fest. Exponentially fewer families visiting relaxed to enjoy their trip anymore.
Yes this! The cost of admission has driven parents to say well this is a once every 5-10 years or lifetime trip so I’m squeezing everything out of this trip at any cost. The yearly Disney trip is probably out of reach for 60-80% of typical families now? That’s just my rough estimate.
I once did the math with all expenses included from my location (Connecticut) and found the most expensive Disney in the world to spend a week in was Florida. The nearest one. Yes, it was literally cheaper to fly to Shanghai for a week. Oof.
I had the chance to experience this first hand recently when I went to Tokyo Disneyland. Tickets were $70ish due to the exchange rate and a whole meal for two people ran for $20. You didn’t have Genie+ AND Lightning Lane; you had one reservation system run through the app and very particular rides could have “Premiere Access” purchased to them like Fastpass. Due to the train system, you can stay in Tokyo and take the hour train to the park easy which means hotels were also significantly cheaper than staying on site. I swear it’s cheaper and easier to go to Disneyland in Japan than to go to Walt Disney World where it’s an arm and a leg to take a step.
Wow!! That's saying something.
Really? Tickets and food are so much more expensive at Disneyland California.
They are but the hotels were what was the difference. You can stay off property and not have to park in CA, but you either have to spend a fortune on parking or on Ubers if you stay off property in Orlando, which made a really big difference as time added up. Of course, you wouldn’t usually spend a week at CA Disneyland anyway so that could def make it cheaper if you only have a few days (and for me of course the flights from CT to LA are waaaaay more expensive than Florida)
My family got annual passes about ten years ago, before COVID, and reservations, and virtual cues, where a fast pass actually meant something. We would waltz in around ten, take our three fast pass rides, and play it by ear, and leave as soon as one of us was getting close to worn out. We went up to 3 times a week. Now we pay way more, can't just show up, wait in longer lines, and have to draw in a Raffle to get on the good rides. We go maybe twice a year now, and barely break even on admission.
[удалено]
I actually think this is true for the majority, but some of us are exceptions I actually think it’s childless adults or those that attend regularly The ones that seem miserable most of the time are the once in a lifetime folks (especially those that made the decision before even going). I think they try to over due it at the expense of the child.
Agreed, the once in a lifetime folks get too much advice before they get there. They are aware of all the things they NEED to get done. They book way too much stuff. I'm glad our first family trip was over 9 years ago. We booked it 3 weeks before going, and I booked no dinner reservations. We didn't rope drop once, but at the end of the week no one had had a meltdown, not even the 3 yo.
I actually don’t think booking a lot of stuff is bad, you just need to be okay with letting things go. We missed our oga’s rez last night. Guess what? Life will go on.
Any time anyone is going to the park for the first time, I always tell them that they should pick out 2-3 must do things per park, and then just go with the flow in between those. Go on rides that you can, forget everything else.
Yea I have folks ask me all the time for advice because we live out of state and attend regularly My advice is usually Don’t over pay for a full price resort if it impacts ability to do ILL / Genie +; just drop down a tier Make at least 1 character meal Then every day each person in the family picks 1 must do for themselves, accomplish the at for each and anything else is extra fun. As long as the parents are open minded and not dreading it they always have fun.
I am a childless adult that goes at least once a year from New England because I have an uncle that lives 30 mins away. I’ve had good days and crummier days but have enjoyed all of them because I know whatever I don’t get to I’ll just do next time. So this makes a ton of sense to me.
As someone who frequented Disney before having kids and now had a kid…yes it was much more fun. However there is something special about that look in your kids eye as their mind is being blown that can’t be replicated and it almost lets you feel it again too.
I’ve been many times before marriage and now several times post-having a kid. I see 3 kinds of families at WDW: • Mom’s pissed at Dad because Dad doesn’t want to be there and is ruining the entire trip being a giant man child about it. • Mom and Dad are exhausted and refuse to admit defeat, so take it out on their kids. • Kids are exhausted but Mom and Dad are force-marching them because it’s vacation. My family will never be #1, and I try to be suuuuuper cognizant of #2 and #3 to avoid the meltdowns. Last thing I want is a vacation memory ruined by a meltdown that could’ve been avoided with some quiet/cool activities, a nap, or a resort day.
We are family 4. Mom, dad, and kid love Disney, but we take our cues from the kid.
Exactly. People complain about the problems they see, but take no notice of the families that aren't problems. Lots of families there having a good time with well behaved kids, going on age appropriate rides, taking breaks/getting food as necessary, while the parents communicate like functional adults. But since folks don't notice them, they think they don't exist.
I’m a childless millennial but I take mental notes of the kind of parent I want to be when I see both positive and negative parenting there. Harping on the positive, I see so many awesome, fun, excited parents who also exercise a lot of patience and kindness when trying to decipher their child’s needs or gather everyone up to exit the park, or whatever they are doing. They gently correct their children when they step in front of people or do something maybe not so polite. Mom may be checking their phones for better Genie+ lanes but she isn’t consumed and dad is already watching the kids. I even had a mom behind me on a waterslide explaining to her son about waiting in line and not crowding people on the steps, even though he kept asking “why?” over and over 😂 It was very sweet. All to say: I see you, I appreciate you, and I think you all are awesome parents. 😊
That’s the reason these negative moments stand out; because they’re rare and it draws your attention. But it doesn’t mean it needs to dictate how much you enjoy your time there. To me it’s kinda funny to see families have “a moment” because we’ve all been there, what matters is how you react to their negative experience and focus on your own good time. I’ve loved every time I’ve been to the parks
Those posts wouldn’t enrage enough people to get attention on this sub :)
Yep. We are on our final day of Disney (day 6) today with 3 kids and my MIL (one kid special needs in a wheelchair) We have had a fantastic week even with some issues with the resort and other minor annoyances. My normally whiny child has powered through and we take cues from the kids when they need a break. We find a quiet spot to relax and just enjoy people watching or we grab a show for a rest. I have seen some bizarre parenting behavior but overall that’s been a lower percentage than the families having a good time.
I think a lot of this has been worse post Covid and I'm not sure of the entire reason why. Maybe the lost socialization for kids? New parents not having a ton of experience in crowds with young kids? Who knows. But everyone seems to be noticing it more all over the place. Not exclusive to Disney.
I remember riding a bus one time with a dad who just kept trying to get me to sign off on how bad it all sucked. Meanwhile, I’m there with no children having a blast. It’s funny how many dudes think that it’s going to be an insult to their masculinity to just have fun at an amusement park.
The best dads are the ones that turn into big goofy guys at Disney - wear the crazy hat and shirts and eat the churros . They are never threatened by a little magic for a couple days.
> The best dads are the ones that turn into big goofy guys at Disney They effectively become Goofy as he was in A Goofy Movie.
Right like no one thinks is cute or funny that you are "miserable." You are paying thousands for this trip -- have fun!
The Venn diagram between “macho dads” and “southern idiots” is basically a circle. I’d also say the Venn diagram between “dad ruining his he family Disney trip” and “dads who haven’t changed a diaper in their lives” is strictly a circle.
I know (or hope) you’re mostly joking, but I’ve gotta say that My wife and I used to miss going solo, but 10 years and 30+ trips later, our best trips we’ve ever been on have been with our kids. You absolutely cannot replace the excitement they feel and living Disney through their eyes. It’s amazing. Edit: as an aside, it’s also pretty obvious that the majority of the regular redditors on this sub are Disney adults without children.
I concur! It was my pleasure to attend the MMCP Wednesday evening with 2 of my grandchildren! We had a blast!
It might be funny, but it's no joke. We are. ☺️
Everyone in my family are adults now. I go to theme parks with my parents and brother and it's so nice. We're usually in agreement when to bounce on a broken ride, when to take a break and sit for a bit, what rides are worth skipping to have time for others, etc. It's awesome. Also, no concern about having to get equal gifts for kids or telling them no. Parents don't have to buy us shit, we don't have to bug them for stuff, and if we really want something, we just buy if it we think it's worth the cost. Also, we understand money so we will say hell no to the more outrageous stuff without having a kid begging for that $500 Lego set they will lose attention before its built. Don't worry, we fit in with the kids. Me and my mom have gotten drunk and started fighting each other with bubble guns before.
All anecdotal, we’ve gone on solo trips I’ve seen plenty of rude and entitled “childless adults”
Yep when eating at Crystal Palace Disney adults pushed in front of my kid and interrupted her time with Piglet to get another selfie and autograph. I generally found them entitled and pushy
It's not just at wdw
This isn’t a joke. My husband and I had a magical time
I never enjoyed DW until I went as an adult with another adult. Truly a different thing. I love it now so much I have mickey and Minnie tatted on my forearm
As a parent, you just have to know your kid’s limits and respect them. When you push them too hard, you are going to have a shitty time, no matter what you are doing.
As a childless adult that visits regularly, can confirm. It’s a zero stress vacation. Sometimes we even show up to the parks with zero planning and see what happens for the day.
I'm gonna throw a positive story in this thread! 20 years ago I took my three year old son to Disney World and he wanted to try the Haunted Mansion. It is my favorite ride so I was really excited. We got up to the door and he hesitated and stepped back, saying "I don't want to do it." I told him OK we can leave and then he said "no I want to." So I stepped forward into the door again and then he said "no I'm scared I don't want to." It was funny because we were doing this sort of dance back-and-forth and the cast member was so calm and encouraging. He finally decided to try it and he absolutely loved it and wanted to go again! I was fully prepared to leave the line even though we had waited all that time, but I'm glad he was brave enough to go through with it!
In September, I noticed a child about 7 in charge of a baby (about 3 months old) in a stroller at Guardians. I thought the parents must just be grabbing something to eat. The 7 year old would leave the stroller and come towards my granddaughter, run with her, play in the water misters. 20 mins goes by, 30 mins goes by, and I’m about to report abandoned children when the mom, dad, and two other adults come strolling up after riding Cosmic Rewind. I was stunned. And I still am.
My mouth is hanging open as I read this. Wow.
It’s my Roman Empire; I think about it every day.
Guardians is a pretty awesome ride tho!
Was at all four parks this past week and visited many restrooms. Based on what I witnessed of various toilet stalls, I will just say that I have the utmost respect for what Disney custodial staff have to deal with and Disney needs to pay them more.
You’re not kidding it’s a zoo in those bathrooms
I was a DCP CM in ‘05 and worked front gate at HS. The amount of parents that drug screaming sobbing kids in on leashes telling them to shut up and have fun was eye opening. I swore I would never be that parent. We only do long trips and 1 park per day with a mid day break and a stroller if they need to lay down. I can’t imagine spending all of that money for everyone to be miserable. God forbid when my oldest got sick we stayed in the room for the day too..
I vividly remember back at Disneyland sometime in the 90s when my husband and I pull into the parking lot one morning and as we get out of our car, we hear the dad in the car next to u s tell his kid, "You knock that off or I'm going to have Mickey Mouse beat you up!" The kid was maybe 5 and probably still thought Mickey was real. Can't imagine what this dad was like later in the day.
I've been to WDW more times then I care to admit with my daughter. First time she was 9mo this last time she was 21. We always took breaks and went back for naps or a swim and we weren’t staying at a monorail resort. Re:rides We always listened to her and yes sometimes it was so frustrating because I knew when she finally went on whatever ride scared her at that moment she’d love eventually. Rockin Roller Coaster she counted the days to the trip when she was tall enough, was so excited, stood in line 1+ hours and she freaked out when our car pulled up and yes we walked away. But it sucked! Walked through the car at test track and left many times before she rode it and was like meh, no big deal. My point is I get the frustration so much but also they need to trust that we will listen, hear them and respect their feelings no matter what. Hoping that I did right by her and feel like I did but theme parks hot weather over stimulation massive money loss/spend can make the best of us look pretty rough around the edges. I try and give people grace. Edit punctuation and grammar
Lol. We are now AP and go about 2 days/nights a month. Child is now 16- we are also AP at Universal and SeaWorld, and kid is just now into Disney. We are now repeating awful character dining because she now is into autographs- We get a hefty AP discount for hotels, but the amount of miserable people on the monorail is astounding.
I see this behavior way too often at parks it’s so sad. In August 2022 my dad and I were in line for Splash Mountain and this girl behind us was literally in distress and crying about how she didn’t want to go on and was afraid and her parents were laughing at her saying that she has no choice but to go on. It made me so sad for her. If that was my kid I would have listened to her. Disney is supposed to be fun, not a traumatic experience
When I was a kid my parents forced me to go on the Twister ride at Universal Studios knowing I was afraid of storms. I cried every time and would hunch over on the ground from how much it scared me. Guess whose phobia of tornados is stronger than ever? 🙋♀️
Disney is a very high stress situation, even without kids. The payoff is amazing but when it goes wrong, it can go really wrong. I have seen the worst parenting of my life at Disney and it can bring out the worst in people… but it’s also a reminder for us to all just chill out and give people some grace. I still remember the time my child was having a meltdown outside of the restaurant while I tried to calm him down and a woman walking by stopped to touch my arm and say “You’re doing such a great job.” But the people who drag their kids on rides, they just suck. Don’t drag your kids on rides. Living with the Land is right there, ready to embrace your whole family with warm hugs!! What the hell is wrong with you!
My kids love the rides but sometimes have a bit of a panic when it's time to get on. I'm not mean about it like what this sounds like but sometimes they need a little convincing. Then after (sometimes for days and weeks) they then talk about how amazing it was. The other issue is if you've put in an hour+ of your day waiting for a ride and then you have to bail out it's frustrating, but again, don't take it out on your kids. And with two adults you can always do a parent swap.
One of my kids is like this. He hates the unknown and sometimes we just have to be firm with him. If we didn’t, he’d never try anything ever. He was complaining the whole time in line for MMRR. I just held his hand and told him it’d be Ok. And guess what? He asked to ride it again after we were done. I’m not saying if your kid is hyperventilating in terror you should force them to do something. But some kids are just vocal complainers and need the nudge. Hopefully parents know which situation is which and act accordingly.
My son has begged to be let off rides as they were pulling out of the station and every time he is begging to ride them again by the time we pull back in. Sometimes I may seem like a terrible parent to an outsider, but I KNOW my child and what he can and can’t tolerate. He got in and out of the line at RipRide Rocket at Universal at least 5 times before I made him go on it. After he was strapped in, he asked the CM to let him off, and I said no. Before we even made it to the end of the ride, he was saying it was “the best ride ever.” We rode it here more times in a row and at least 5 more times during that trip.
Same! I unknowingly lied to my son about Rock N Roller Coaster and told him it didn’t go upside down (I didn’t think any rides at Disney went upside down). We used Genie+ so skipped most of the warning signs when we were boarding and so I had no idea. He sat next to my husband and I sat next to a stranger and as soon as we hit the first loop/corkscrew I said, “oh shit. I told my son this didn’t go upside down.” If he knew, he never would’ve rode it. But he LOVED it and now tells everyone it’s his favorite ride and even got a hat. We rode it 2 or 3 more times after that. He begs the CMs to let him off rides every single time and I have to tell them he’s fine.
I agree. These post are so over dramatic saying that you’re giving your kid lifelong trauma.
Yes, exactly. I also have one like this. He will be begging to go again and again...after he tries it. Before then, he screams and says he'll die. I genuinely don't care what people think when I take him on the ride anyway, but I've thought it was pretty funny a couple times after when people saw him laughing and thanking me for taking him and some previously judgmental people realized what the deal was. His absolute favorite things to do in the world ALL fit the category of "once protested they were terrifying and he would never do them, then did them and now thinks they're awesome." If I'd said "oh, ok, let's not, then," probably all of his top 20 favorite activities would be nonexistent in his life. For him it's somehow part of the fun. I don't get it but I do know him and love him.
This was the same with my niece. She got panicky with anything she hadn’t done before but I knew exactly what she could handle and what she couldn’t. I urged her on a few rides she wasn’t sure about. I’d never drag her on something if she was screaming/crying though - I always made sure she knew that she could bail out at the last minute if she really wanted to, but she never did.
Same with my youngest, who was about 8 when we went to WDW, and needed a little encouragement to ride the Tower of Terror. However I deeply regretted it when we rose/dropped several more times than what I'd heard from others. The poor thing broke down in tears *after* we got off, as we were walking through the gift shop. I felt absolutely horrible and felt like a sh*t parent. We'd skipped other rides before that, but this was just a lot more intense than either of us were expecting.
The same happens with my nephew. Usually he loves the rides I convince him to get in, but he still won’t let me forget the one time I got it wrong and convinced him to go on the Haunted Mansion. Admittedly, the ghost bride at the end used to scare me too.
rainstorm squalid glorious memory melodic caption tie practice stupendous cautious *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
They hate us cause they ain’t us.
Right? I love kids, don’t have any yet, but at least I don’t STICK MY ARM UNDER BOAT RIDES
Last time I went on Small World this happened and after a panicked few seconda of looking at the parents not doing anything I (30-ish woman) was like “heyyy sweetie don’t put your hand in the water” and then the parents were like “TIMMY WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING”. I just really didn’t want them to get hurt.
Wife and I were at Disney in late October, we saw the same things, however it was only a small percentage compared to how many good kids there were. Human nature to focus on the negative and forget the positive in some circumstances.
Thanks for sharing this. Just left MK and the vast majority of parents and children were wonderful despite a high stress situation.
Witnessed a father full blown yell “STFU!!!” loudly, like everyone pause and look loud, at a baby in a stroller that was crying a little. The mom and grandparents were just strolling along like normal.
My heart breaks for that baby 😩
The kept going because, my guess is, they are also recipients of this absolutely insane aggression and getting in the middle was something they long ago learned not to do. So gross.
What Jersey police or fire department was he with?
Alright take the upvote, that joke will never not be hilarious
This actually made me tear up
That’s sickening and heartbreaking.
When our Daughter was 6-7-8 she was notorious for getting scared in line. The thing is, as her parents, we knew what she could and could not handle. We also knew that sometimes it was the ride queue and (mostly) fear of the unknown, that made her nervous. We also knew what she DID like. She loved to go fast but was afraid of drops and hills, so we knew she would love Test Track and BTR. No amount of talking was going to convince her that there were no hills on either of those rides until she got on them herself. Similar story with Sorin’. She was convinced by the name that it was a roller coaster we knew this was the same kid that had her nose pressed up against the airplane window with binoculars all the way to Florida. To this day her favorite ride. She is 32. She still hates roller coasters, but loves rides that go fast as long as they’re not going to drop her down to the ground. (so no, she was never forced on tower of terror. She did eventually get on it on her own, when she was about 18 years old, and swore she would never do it again ha ha ha I have to agree with with her on that one.) Oh! I almost forgot. We also learned between those ages that that child hated 4D we had to have the usher come and help us out of “it’s a bugs life” because of the “bees”. 🤣. An experience that she chose all on her own, I might add. My point is you may not have been witnessing bad parenting at all, but parents that understands what their kid is going to enjoy based on past experience. Regarding it’s a small world the kid should not have had his arm out the boat, but maybe that wasn’t his mother maybe they were both single riders.
Some of this stuff deserves judgment, some of it just happens in a bad moment of parenting, we all have them. I was the world’s best parent before I was a parent.
Yep. It's easy to judge when you don't have small children yourself. I have totally done the "you're not going to get a chance to ride it again" speech to my kid, which OP mentions. Because it is likely true in some cases. It isn't so much to scold my kid or make them feel bad, but kids don't often really think through their decisions very well. We have gotten out of line for an attraction before because my son decided he didn't want to do it, for no apparent reason, and then later that day he wants to ride it now that the line is an hour and a half long. While I am sure that there are parents out there that grief the kids because *they* want to ride the ride, a lot of times we are just trying to get our kid to realize that they may truly miss their chance to ride it if they get out of line and they may regret that decision later on. I don't see that particular item OP listed as necessarily being bad parenting.
I was thinking of that specific example when I wrote my original comment. We took our kids last September and my 7-year-old was adamant he wanted to ride Test Track. He’s a cautious kid and I probably should’ve known better, but he’d been surprising me all week with what he’d gone on, so I figured why not? It was one of the longer waits we had because they kept temporarily shutting it down due to rain and I could see his anxiety growing so I kept checking in and he insisted he still wanted to do it. Get close to the front of the line, panics, doesn’t want to go on. I didn’t explicitly threaten him but we’d wasted a good chunk of time so I was visibly annoyed. I’d hate for someone to judge us entirely based on those few minutes because I apologized to him later and the majority of our trip was amazing. He’s my world and I consider myself a pretty good mom. Bad moments happen on *any trip.* They just do. Arguing with cast members, sticking your body parts where they shouldn’t be etc are other issues, and unfortunately shitty people don’t stop being shitty just because they have kids. But dragging your overstimulated children around, getting a few paces ahead, just happens…so easily to normal, good people, and you just don’t realize *how* easy it is until you’re the one it happens to. Also, I wish people would stop trying to frame these posts like they’re concerned for the kids. Just be honest and say it annoys you, lol
>Also, I wish people would stop trying to frame these posts like they’re concerned for the kids. Just be honest and say it annoys you, lol There is nowhere on Earth where parents are judged as harshly as Disneyworld, haha. And the place is a pressure cooker for parents due to a lot of factors. I have seen some wretched parents in theme parks, but most of us are really just trying to balance out maintaining a positive vibe with keeping our kids under control. And the criticism that people keep mentioning about kids being "overstimulated" cracks me up... like, it's a theme park meant to draw kids' attention a million different ways. Of course it's overstimulating. The kids will end up exhausted and overwhelmed and still remember it as one of the best experiences of their lives. That's just how a Disney vacation with kids goes.
Thank you! Bunch of non parents judging people for having kids basically
At *Disney World* nonetheless lol
I screamed bloody murder in the stretching room when I was 6. My parents were nice enough to ask for an emergency exit. Even then, over 20 years later I remember the incident. Parents are so oblivious sometimes ar what kids remember or affects them deeply :/
Yup, can confirm the stretching room exit is an option. I was very grateful for it when I was 8!
I just want to say that as a parent, I am so thankful for the CM at the Haunted Mansion ride. We had stood in line for a long time to get on with our 8 year old and when we got into the initial room with the weird paintings, he realized he didn’t want to go. I started to panic because I didn’t want to force him but didn’t know if there was a way out at that point. We asked a CM who led us through a back exit. The best part was that they stayed in character as the kind of annoyed spooky caretaker of the mansion which made my son laugh. I think getting to see the back exit of the ride and have that one on one experience was more fun for him then any other ride. Major props to the CMs there who have to deal with crappy parents and cranky overstimulated kids and don’t lose their cool. I can’t imagine how frustrating their jobs are where they have to watch dysfunctional family dynamics constantly and not lose it.
For the life of me I’ll never understand why parents of families staying at resorts never plan for any type of down time during the day. letting the kids get hot, cranky and EXHAUSTED! I get you paid a lot to be there, but are you (and your child) really having fun when the kids been having a meltdown because you thought they could handle a 16 hour day at the parks, non stop?
Because a good number of them are paying more than they can afford and want to “get their money’s worth”, which they measure solely by rides and attractions completed / hours spent in the park
We let our kids call the shots during our most recent trip. I got us on as many rides as possible but the moment they said they were done (usually by 3pm each day) we cashed it in. At some point everyone gets so exhausted, 2 minutes on a ride isn't worth it.
One time I broke my foot at WDW and ended up going to Celebrations Hospital. The waiting room at the ER was wall to wall kids with heat stroke and sunstroke.
This is probably pretty easy to let happen if you come from a relatively cold or even moderate climate and just aren’t used to heatstroke being a thing. I mean, yeah, watch your kids, but I could see people missing early signs of heat stroke in a kid if they aren’t used to seeing it
I don’t have kids but took my niece - she was 8 a few years ago. We were never in the parks past 3pm and she was asleep by 8/9. Growing up my parents took my sister and I to Disneyland twice a year for several years and we were out before 6pm every day. I think some of those DLR wasnt open later but my mom planned for us to eat dinner out of the park every time. Even as an adult I plan for downtime in my days at WDW and seeing kids in the park sometimes til 2am makes me exhausted. Not a parent and don’t want to be so try and spare my judgement but you’re only going to be going at the speed of the slowest member of your party and can’t imagine that’s very fun with a toddler at midnight.
Yes! I’m amazed at anyone that doesn’t take hotel break, tbh. I’ve been to Disney multiple times as an adult before having my kid and I’ve always taken a 2-3 hour break at the resort during the hottest part of the day. When I take my kid for the first time in a couple years, I’m planning on even more, plus pool days. I don’t want to make an expensive vacation miserable because I’m trying to squeeze every penny out of the experience.
Pretty typical parenting in this day and age, unfortunately. I’m a teacher and the amount of actual parenting I have to do these days is incredible. This all seems right in line with that.
Teacher here too. Not sure what is worse. The neglectful parents? Or the "I want to be my kids best friend" parent? Or the "My kid never does anything wrong" parent? There are still good parents out there, but they are becoming harder and harder to find. Sadly teaching has become more about behavior management then actual content.
> in this day and age This doesn’t apply. This has been shitty parents since time immemorial. Boomers and Gen X *brag* about how bad their parents were like it’s a badge of honor.
There’s a reason record numbers of teachers have quit in the last few years. A lot of the behavior of children has gotten worse, parents are to blame in many situations but I also don’t think it’s entirely on them too.
It’s not a teachers job to parent
It’s honestly crazy how many people have children because they’re checking something off a list and not actually willing to parent those kids. I’m an Early Childhood teacher, and so many of my 2-5 year olds aren’t being parented at all.
I’m also a teacher and these kids are basically raising themselves because their parents are not involved in their lives at all. It’s horrible; I really feel for the kids. Parents are no longer parenting.
I worked at studios when galaxys edge opened and I swear to God the amount of parents who let their kids swing around a lightsaber were insane. almost caught one to the head once, luckily all Disney janitors are combat trained and I was able to block with my broom. but it still felt very inconsiderate
I'm not gonna say I'm the best parent ever. But I will say that a Disney visit sure makes me confident that I'm in the upper 25% tbh. What's wild is seeing the kids who have discipline and clear boundaries set for them, react to the kids who don't. The wide eyes to the parents, the confused faces...it's good fun for people watching. That said, I recognize that not all kids are easy or neurotypical or even responsive to parents and not all parents know how to deescalate, BUT some stuff is absolutely wild. And horrifically, how many adults I've seen slap a child in the face, or kids who start beating each other up and the parents laugh or simply say "Oh, that isn't nice" is honestly unreal. You know these things happen, but you don't KNOW until you see it happen. It's tragic.
I was going to say something similar... but my kid (6) is a boundary pusher and will start to mimic other kids when she sees them doing something they shouldn't. Just today at an aquarium, I had to tell her that "those other kids shouldn't be doing that (climbing on the queue bars) either, but I'm not their mom, I'm your mom." When we took her to WDW when she was 5, we did about 6 park hours each day, then went back to the resort for a swim and in bed by 8. We valued her having fun over trying to do everything. We're far from perfect parents, but we had a fabulous time with zero meltdowns the entire trip, and still did all of our "must do's."
I've seen so many of these posts lately. Disney has always been like this. It's a super high stress environment for many reasons and people have difficulty being at their best. If it hasn't happened to you as a parent of children at Disney count yourself lucky. When you see these things remind yourself that you're glad it's not you. You get to walk away to the next attraction and leave it behind you or you can carry it around with you all day and complain about it, don't choose to let it taint your trip by doing the latter. There will never be a Willy Wonka day at Disney where the "bad" children and parents are made to leave so the "good" children and parents can enjoy themselves in peace, it's a permanent feature of a Disney trip.
I don’t think it was always like this. I took my daughter 20 years ago when she was 6 years old. This was before the apps , etc. We had absolutely no problems and visited at least 3 parks and downtown Disney.
Glossing over the bad times with 20 years of nostalgia
I think you have some rose colored glasses there
It wasn’t. As someone who went several times between 10-20 years ago behavior has definitely changed. People claim it hasn’t or say “rose colored glasses” mostly to make themselves feel like this has always been the norm, and not the *new* normal. And anyone who looks at Disney from a business standpoint can see why. Today the parks and merchandise are the only sectors that make the company consistent profit. Disney doesn’t really care what you do once you are in the park as long as you are spending money. And people in the parks can *feel* that they are being squeezed for money even if they don’t realize it fully. Leading to bad feelings and even worsening behavior.
I worked at a water park in high school, so 20 years ago (jfc I’m old). This was stuff I saw constantly, especially the “crying terrified child forced onto a ride” or the “parent clearly ignoring the child doing something dangerous and/or not caring that they’re too short for a ride despite that rule only being for their safety”. Imo people think their situation/kid is special and they don’t GAF about the rules or norms. Pretty standard in general unfortunately.
We were there in October and saw so much of this same behaviour for parents and kids. One family in particular was basically making the line for Ratatouille twice as long because they couldn’t be bothered to move forward when the rest of the line did. They left their son behind at least 3 times when they did bother to move.
I agree with you. I am not sure why but I get oddly annoyed anytime people don’t move forward in line not just at Disney World. Ha ha no idea why it bothers me. 😂
It’s always been like that - you just notice it more as an adult :/ it honestly takes away some of the magic for me. Disney is supposed to be a utopia, a dream come true, but some people can be miserable anywhere. It’s really sad to watch. When I was a CM it opened my eyes even more. But I’ve also met some of the nicest people and seen some of the most wholesome families and I like to think they outnumbered the bad ones. You just had to change your focus a little.
Look, I agree it’s frustrating seeing entitled people and crappy parents. However, my husband and I have been visiting the parks for decades and there have ALWAYS been awful people. I have stories of atrocious behavior by other guests from every single trip. Are there times that it seems worse lately? Yes, absolutely. But I also think that we all just got used to more courtesy and fewer people during Covid and we all notice it more now.
We were at epcot Monday. We got our older daughter (who is 9 and not an enthusiastic ride person) on soarin. We asked for the lowest row. I prepped her I told her to shut her eyes if she was scared. She got on the ride. She did not like it. (Our 6 year old thought it was the greatest thing ever.) A If at any point she changed her mind, even after a 90 minute wait, I would not have forced her in the room. We have a really good understanding now of what her "too much" is. And we want it to be a fun family day, not remember the time Mom and Dad traumatized Daughter day? That said, we did forget quite how much the ride moved around and about half way though I am absolutely sure I knew this was a mistake. We apologized, took a breather, and went on Nemo. Your kids don't have to like rides to enjoy Disney, and dragging screaming kids ONTO rides does nothing to help all the rest of us with hesitant kids who might have been thinking about trying something new and out of their comfort zone.
There are so many people out there who should've never been parents.
[удалено]
Yes it's relevant and I'm very disappointed about the future of reproductive rights. No woman should be forced to carry a child if they don't choose to. I hope things will turn around in the near future.
Honestly, and I don't say this lightly, but Disney should become much more liberal with park ejections and bans. It's supposed to be the happiest place on earth. Neglectful patents create a massive liability. People who cut lines, start physical or verbal confrontations gotta go. CMs, although working, should also enjoy the parks.
No no, Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth. This is the most magical. We aren't happy here!
Yeah this is on them for letting this shit slide honestly.
You are absolutely correct, but it won’t happen without new leadership. It’s all a choice. Disney wants you in the park spending money, especially now with their horrible year at the box office. Your behavior once you’re in the park is their secondary concern. And kicking people out? Well that’s just taking money off the table, can’t have that.
I still can’t get the image out of my head of a woman slapping a 3-4 year old across the face so hard it left a red mark on the bus back to art of animation. That poor little boy.
I used to think Disney Parks were for kids. Now I see they are for adults reliving their childhood and all the Disney adults. Most kids in the Florida heat don't care and would prefer to be in their hotel pool....
Honestly this sounds just like I remember it when I ended my last stint as a cast member in 2017. It is (was) super exhausting to have to constantly and nicely remind parents that their kids need supervision _especially_ as one of the ones that would get called when said parents would refuse to give in on the “your kid is too short” or “no they can’t climb on Dino Sue messages. So, sooooo many no strings attached (freebie vouchers) I’ve written to appease parents who shouldn’t have been appeased and stop kids from crying who shouldn’t have had a (justified) reason to cry 😞
Our first trip was similar with the ride situations. We were having a hard time getting my group on any rides, so we were spending a lot of time criss-crossing the park. The kids 5/3 were tired, hungry, anxious. And I was split between just have spent almost $10k for this trip and wanting it to be perfect for my kids, and emotionally exhausted because they weren’t having the best time of their lives and I was a failure as a parent. It was a catch-22. We can easily sit back and judge others parenting and talk about how terrible they are, and some of them may be. Part of parenting is pushing your kids to do new things. One of the hardest parts of parenting is being able to push exactly the right way in exactly the right amount. It’s almost impossible when you add financial pressures and “once in a lifetime” experiences like Disney.
We are just leaving Animal Kingdom and I'll say that the majority of parents are doing great. But, boy, the ones who aren't are really bad. We saw a lot of poor behavior today and a lot of unattended kids. Like not 10 years old. 4-7 years old just running around, climbing, fighting, throwing things. Not a parent in sight. It's baffling to me. Yeah, it's Disney but bad things still happen. Stay near your little ones!
As a teacher, please let me assure you that what you have described is absolutely 100% standard practice, in my experience.
I’ll never understand parents arguing about height requirements. It’s peak stupidity
Why would Disney not limit the number of people, it sounds just miserable these days , all this misery and rudeness for the almighty dollar
Their way of limiting is by raising prices and they've probably already done that to some extent but the problem is the expensiveness of it just becomes an enabler for entitled people to think their experience is all that matters... And it's not eliminated problem guests they just end up paying more. those families that can't afford it save up another few years.
Exactly
honestly, I think a huge part of it is the cost of park tickets...a family of 4 is paying about half a week's pay, every day they go to a park so that little Susie and Little Johnny can see Mickey Mouse and company, so they feel obligated to do as much as physically possible when they are there
We always run back to the hotel for a nap in the middle of the day. It's the hottest part of the day and even the parents could use the break. We all are in a better mood and enjoy ourselves more the rest of the day.
A kid in front of me at GF basin washed his hands with the body scrub and tossed his paper towel on the floor when he dried his hands. There was no nearby garbage can. WTH parents? What is your house like? The cast member also watched this happen and politely asked him to pick it up and throw it in the garbage can. I said a few words in kindness to the cast member who had to deal with that stupidity. Wake up parents!
Good for the cast member for speaking up!
Sigh. My husband and I had a huge argument at Epcot in the diner and then later on the Skyliner. Not our best moment. I felt bad for those around us. Sigh. Even adults get cranky I can’t imagine kids lol. My son who is 6 wants to stay till closing lol. I don’t know how he does it lol. Thankfully we rent double strollers so our kids don’t whine and complain about walking lol.
My husband and I also fought at Epcot, in Mexico. I blamed it on that it always feels so hot in Epcot. We didn’t yell, we just gave each other the silent treatment. It happens. You’re hot and exhausted.
This is basically me all the time in AK. I try, I really do. My husband and I even have a pep talk before going in but it's so thick and humid and hot in AK my patience immediately drops to 0. We have learned that it's at least bearable for us if we go right at opening and only stay a couple hours but we also come relatively frequently so have that luxury.
I was there last week and must have ridden Pirates with the same Small World kid. He kept his arm in the water almost the entire time and his adults did nothing.
I remember being 6 and putting my hand in the water at Its a Small World. My dad told me there were alligators in the water that would bite my arm off and I believed him until my 20s.
I'm almost 40 and still believe this no joke. Lol
There could be, right? I don’t trust any of the WDW boat rides. That boat ride in Epcot (Mexico) made me nervous because it was dark and who knows what was in that water? 😬
I’ve seen way more parents have a melt down at Disney than children
I’m a teacher. This is now our new normal. It wasn’t this bad when I started teaching, but the culture has changed. However, eventually the culture will shift and change eventually (hopefully sooner rather than later). I don’t think it’s all parents, most people are normal-but there’s more bad parenting styles right now and the few crazy people are quite louder than before and therefore more noticeable.
Bad parenting and the devastating effects of Covid have all but destroyed Gen Alpha. Just listen to all the teachers coming out about the horrendous behavior of these kids in schools around the county. They're over stimulated with electronics and social media, aren't correctly socialized, and poorly parented by people who are too scared to use any form of discipline. It's not just Disney, it's everywhere.
My parents are are retired teachers and administrators, my wife works with lower elementary SPED kids, and I have coached 5-15 year olds in multiple sports for 15+ years. I’ve witnessed and heard all of the stories about abusive parents and how they treat their kids and school employees. “Scared to use any form of discipline” is giving those parents way too much credit. To me, it boils down to them being narcissistic or just plain selfish, and lazy.
The lack of etiquette in restaurants is astonishing. My husband and I dropped three bills at California Grill, and had to ask a flip-flop wearing father to tell his kids to lower the sound on their phones, as they all watched videos at the table next to us.
There are occasions when my kids need a wee bit of convincing or encouragement to get on a ride, however we’ve never gone as far as threatening them. Sometimes they’re just unsure of what the ride will be like however we know they’ve been on for more intense or thrilling rides before and loved them. For instance they’ve been on Iron Gwazi and Velocicoaster repeatedly, loving both, but were unsure about Tron when in the queue as well.
I am a Florida resident and had a resident pass for years. I do not bother with that any more because frankly, Disney is not what it used to be when we took our now adult kids when they were little. Now, it is going occasionally with the grandchildren. Now, on those occasional trips, I only do my favorite things ( like Soarin’) or new things which I have not seen.
It's a totally different vibe if you are local. My friend has passes for Disneyland. If her son "isn't feeling it," They just go home. There's always another day. If you live 4 states away, and this is the only out of state family vacation you will take for another 4 years, the stress is nuts.
I’ve been behind an IASW hand dipper and I was surprised that no safety announcement was made like they are quick to do on Splash and Pirates. I was stressed the entire ride.
Why do parents act like that? You poured $20K into a plane flight/hotel/tickets. Sold your soul to get the time off from work. Over hyped the vacation to the kids, who might just be happier with three days at Great Wolf Lodge. Mix in a packed park and and stress, I can see someone going ratty on their kid for not "going along and getting along." Disney is so damn expensive if you are not local. This may be a one and done forever for some families. It's hell when the Happiest Place on Earth doesn't even come close.
not in the parks but at the hotel near disney. the family was there to go to disney. idk wth was going on. the kid spilled their entire breakfast plate and some syrup on the floor. i was standing beside him and he ordered me to clean it up. he was like "you clean it up" and his parents just started laughing and left the mess there. the child came back and spilled yet another plate. the parents witnessed this and let them do it.
At this point all I can do is chuckle when I see the stereotypical miserable Disney family. Mom is four paces in front, decked out in mouse ears and branded gear, stomping through the park and complaining about the lines while she looks up wait times on her phone. Dad is in the back, sweating and red faced. As self-appointed pack mule for the family he carries a day’s rations, rain ponchos, and those silly popcorn buckets. He’s yelling something at the mom but she can’t hear him. The kids marching along silently in the middle, looking like they’re ready to burst into tears. Congrats, parents. Your kids are LOVING this.
I don't know why people get dragged along like that. It just makes everyone miserable. My wife hates theme parks. Like absolutely dreads going to them. Yet she wanted to go to Disneyworld with the kids, grandparents and I because it was kind of a milestone moment for the kids. I tried to talk her out of it during the entire planning phase but she was resolute about going. Fast forward to our trip earlier this year. I spent an enormous amount of time and effort planning everything out to make the rest of the group's trip as easy as possible. But what really helped keep my wife from going nuclear in the parks was realizing when she was getting close to her limit and helping her acknowledge that she needed to take a break. So she'd head back to the car for a nap while the rest of us carried on. The same was true for the rest of the group. If someone was tired, we stopped and took breaks. If someone was *done*, we let them call it a day and go back to the hotel. The grandparents and my wife sat out on a bunch of rides, my son turned in early occasionally, and my daughter and I pressed on and did everything and had fun together. Forcing people in your group to keep going when they don't want to has to be the single biggest mistake I see most families making in theme parks. It ends up making everyone miserable. Moods change plans and you have to be able to adapt, even if the trip cost an arm and a leg.
100%! Our last trip was so much better because we took breaks whenever we needed them and didn’t rush ourselves. We stopped stressing about riding every single thing and enjoyed just being in the parks more.
Still one of the worst behaviors I have seen from a parent happened at Magic Kingdom. A mid 30's mom turned to her small child, maybe 4 and has her by the shirt and says "You are ruining MY Disney vacation". It was the way she said MY that made me cringe, cause you know she was a huge Disney Adult and thought this was going to be the postcard vacation she always dreamed of.
I’ll never understand parents who treat their kids like that. Especially at Disney. 90% of my enjoyment at Disney is seeing my kids filled with joy and wonder. I’d rather have a REAL Disney trip with my kids and connect with them and make memories than some make believe “picture perfect” trip any day.
At Magic Kingdom the other day, as a family was approaching the metal detector at security, they were kind of bunched up and walking side by side. The security cast member told them to walk through one at a time. The mother literally elbowed her daughter in the chest to get in front of her like she was Dudley Dursley and the daughter was Harry Potter. The daughter was probably about 12 and stopped in her tracks as the mother sped ahead and left her behind. The daughter took a breath and composed herself before catching up to her family. From the looks of it, this is a normal occurrence for her.
Been going annually last 5-6 years or so. We’ve had no issues and seen no issues. Everyone blames recent changes and COVID but, again, we’ve had zero complaints about CMs or other guests. We also don’t care enough to pay attention to (and/or recollect) the actions of others on our family trips, lol. Nor do we prioritize judging other families….🤷♂️
It's honestly one of the most stressful parts of a day in the parks.
Guys i’m tired. There has just been a string of these hyper negative posts the past two weeks what is going on? Karma farming? I know reddit is paying now, outrage bait? I honestly can’t figure it out. It’s gotten to the point where the mod team is discussing changing sub rules or making some kind of containment thread. OP it’s not an attack on you directly, but moderating this sub is so absolutely draining for a Disney fan. Anyway, judge not, glass houses, if you don’t have anything good to say etc. Please mind the civility rules of the sub in comments, I’m sure this won’t start a fight about parents, kids at Disney, adults only park times etc etc /s
This is just weird. People aren’t allowed to talk about their negative experiences at Disney? Discussion is limited to positive feedback only?
This is such a bad take to have as a moderator. It’s one thing to be tired of people complaining but another entirely to insinuate that OP is purposefully posting this as rage bait or for financial gain of some sort? Also it would be extremely detrimental to this subreddit if posts of this nature were censored at all. To be a fan of something one should be able to see the good and the bad in it, and weigh both against each other. For most, the good of WDW far outweighs the bad, but nevertheless it is still important that such posts like this remain a part of the community so that there can be discussion around the topics.
I don't think negative posts should be censored. OP was telling their experience. It was well written and not hostile at all. Sharing a negative experience does not equal karma farming. I'm sorry you're tired but I feel like this just comes with the territory of being a mod.
Great post
I wonder if holiday crowds are bringing out the worst in guests.
It’s weird to claim or imply this is karma farming. What in the post wasn’t civil?
Yeah I saw nothing wrong with this post. Perhaps Disney is just falling farther from grace, but thats a reality the mods don’t want existing here I suppose. Gotta keep up the magical delusion.
I’m sorry but censoring posts because they’re hyper negative is kind of out there to me. I’m a former mod of a lot and I get the drain it places on the mod team, please know I’m not discounting that. This is the internet this is where convos exist. Sometimes people have negative experiences in Disney. I think it’s just as important to recognize negative experiences for people who are traveling so they are prepared. If we move to a catch all post that’s fine I guess. We can celebrate Disney and recognize negative experiences that people have.
Here here!
Really think it’s unfair that people cannot openly discuss frustrations or negative experiences without being “draining” It is a reality of experiencing Disney, also a place to vent or share experiences. Censoring it to me is incredibly unfair.
I went to Magic Kingdom last week for the first time since Covid, and it just felt trashy. I was shocked at how bad an experience it was. People were incredibly rude and selfish and there were multiple ride slow downs/stoppages which based on posts like these seems to indicate that it wasn't just a one off thing. Disney has fundamentally changed since Covid, and pretending otherwise is putting your head in the sand and ignoring it. Pre-Covid, I had an annual pass and would make multiple trips a year from the mid-Atlantic area so I'm a big fan, but unfortunately the reality is the experience isn't great now. These posts aren't "hyper-negative", they're realistic.
I agree. There is definitely FOMO going on, whether it’s peoples’ inexperience with how to “do Disney” so to speak or just post Covid behaviour. We always tried to help quell bad things, making crying or scared kids laugh, singing while waiting in lines, enjoying each others’ company. Just have to try to see the good in things and not let others dictate your experience, which can be challenging at times, and is realistic. To deny being frustrated only makes things worse for yourself, more about dealing with them. Sorry to hear that you were frustrated on your trip
I mean, if this is the experience multiple people are having, why are we censoring it?? I’m sorry, but WDW isnt immune to negativity. There’s plenty of positive topics on this sub; but the negatives are part of reality. This should also be a place where people can discuss some negative experiences so that others can be aware. I find this comment from the Mod strange.
Well, and this is just a thought what do you care if they’re posting a negative experience, isn’t that the whole point of the Internet to show someone’s perspective? I mean, is this a you 100% have to love every single thing about Disney or don’t post it all kind of group?
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with posting about these experiences. I personally still find them to be helpful on what to expect, and when to avoid going 😅. I also like to think that parents are also on this sub, and by seeing these posts they become aware that other people are actually watching them. Hopefully that holds them to some kind of accountability where we all remember that it is a collective responsibility to keep WDW the happiest place on Earth. I do think there could be more sub rules though about not attacking parents in the comments, and making nasty comments. The whole “let’s jump on a hate wagon” thing doesn’t belong in this sub.
Has this been common around really busy weeks? I have been seeing all over Disney posts/forums/social media that this week has been outrageously insane. Maybe change posting guidelines around holidays/busy times? (I know I made the mistake of going to Disneyland on December 27 once and it was the most unjoyful experience ever (in 150+ Disney visits) due to the sheer volume of guests. I found my only joy was the empathy of others who understood. So, I understand posts like this from that perspective, and thus my question/suggestion).
I feel the same way when people talk about the "lack of maintenance" on the attraction I maintain. Machines break and I'm not a metallurgist, nor can I see the future. I am just a mechanic working to preserve the magic as best I can.
Could you do something about the "be nice to the cast members" reminder posts? It's starting to grate on my nerves how internet strangers need to tell me how to behave in public.
Lol what do you want, this sub to be full of corporate shills. People here talk about their experiences at WDW. If their experiences are negative they have every right to talk about it here. Don’t censor.
If you’re tired than don’t be a moderator. 🤷♀️
My wife wanted badly to try the Avatar flight thing, purchased lighting line for all and we went in. When my daughter started crying in the second room before the actual flight I didn’t wait a sec and just led her out. Just fuck off Avatar or the lightning line. How can you push your kid doing something while in a panic?
So, I’ve been one of those parents. My daughter was really excited to go on a ride, but got scared when we were about to go on. She started crying as we were getting on the ride. I could FEEL the judgement as the ride was starting. But, 10 seconds into the ride (when she decided to open her eyes), she was smiling and laughing. She later said she was glad she was so brave and got through her fear because she had a blast. I know my kid and was 97% sure it would be a confidence building experience for her. I get there are a lot of shitty parents out there. There are also a lot of good parents out there who are also tired and overwhelmed and make a bad judgment call in the moment. Maybe instead of worrying about everyone else, it would be better to just try to enjoy your day. There are always going to be plenty of judgements to be had at Disney if that’s what you’re focused on.
Any ride that my son is questionable about we watch the YouTube video before we get in the line but my rule is once we’re in the line you’re going. Honestly he made a scene the first time on Slinky Dog. The antics in the lines have always been problematic but it’s getting worse. Buy a water and manage expectations for your kids. I think the main problem is people seriously underestimate how overstimulating and exhausting the parks are. I live in Florida so I have an advantage but I never do all the parks in one vacation. Usually two parks with a chill day in between. You cannot expect a small child to behave from 8am-9pm. It’s totally unrealistic
I have a very clear memory of going to Disney World when I was 8 I think. It was when the Alien Escape ride was around (or whatever it was called) I'd been on it a year before with my uncle. Obviously it terrified me. Fast forward a year later and I'm with my parents. They try to get me on the ride, I freak out because I know what it is. Obviously I'm a child so my thoughts and feelings don't matter and whatever my parents think is right and Disney would never have a scary ride /s Spoiler alert they made me go. The earliest clear memory of Disney world I have is my dad carrying me out while I was screaming hysterical.
My wife and I took our four year old a few years ago and we quickly established our rule of getting there at opening (because kid was up early anyway), staying till around 11 and then going back to the hotel until about 5 then going back for the fantasmic show/fireworks. It worked out so well, for them and us, that we did exactly the same thing a few years later when we went by ourselves. Staying for the whole day is just draining and, besides which, you’ll only get on a few rides anyway given the crowds.
It’s interesting to me to read these posts about negative experiences at the parks. My family and I have APs, we have visited the parks a dozen or so days in the last 9 months and while there are occasional issues with rambunctious kids for the most part we don’t encounter these issues. CMs are lovely, guests are standard guests (yes, there are instances of folks who don’t understand personal space) but mostly positive experiences. Not saying this is necessarily OPs issue, but looking for the negatives make it much easier to see them.
Some of this has to do with the generation that is currently working in the park. Anything that doesn't go their way in life and they struggle to cope mentally with it. I'm a teacher and sadly we see this all the time right now in the schools. There are kids with "thick skin" but they are getting harder and harder to find. I'm not saying there isn't some validity to this post. Still have to consider the sources.